Co-Parenting
by Californiapoppy5
Summary: Nothing comes easy when your best friend knocks you up. There will be alot of compromise, alot of diapers, and alot of love. Will they set their differences aside and co-parent successfully for their new baby?
1. August

**Co-Parenting**

* * *

**August 4th, 2012**

Gabriella bounced in excitement as she made her way into the five year reunion of East High. Though she's sees her closest five friends on a daily basis, with the exception of Ryan and Kelsi who were off in New York. She was excited to see how everyone else was doing. She walked up to the front desk and cleared her throat, catching the attention of a former classmate who was working the table.

"This is the East High Reunion, class of 2007." The girl she recognized as Martha said.

"Yes, I know." Gabriella said slowly. "I'm Gabriella Montez."

She gasped, standing up quickly. "No!"

Gabriella nodded. "How have you been Martha?" She asked with a grin.

"Look at you! Wow." Martha said taking her in. "You've changed so much!"

She frowned. She didn't think she changed that much. She got contacts, her braces were off a week before graduation. They had taken them off for a day to take her senior picture but they were put back on. She lost a good thirty pounds becoming a gym junkie the day she bought her first membership. She didn't need to technically lose weight but she wanted to be in shape.

"I didn't change that much." She said with a slight frown. She rubbed her lips together, something she'd do when she was uncomfortable.

Martha wrote her name down and handed her the name tag. She clipped it onto her purple cocktail dress and started walking away from the table. She pushed her dark curls to the front of her shoulders and held her head up high.

Maybe she had changed. The girl that once lurked the halls of East High had about the fifth of the confidence this Gabriella had. The attention from guys had broken her out of her shell. She didn't have to be the freaky math girl. She could just be a girl, a friend and a lover. She wore a proud smile of the person who she'd become. She was on her way to doing amazing things and she wouldn't let anybody hold her back.

She spent the last four years at the University of Albuquerque with her friends by choice. Her parents weren't so happy but she always made her own decisions. Now she lived in California, joining Taylor at Stanford, Zeke went to a culinary school in San Francisco, Troy was at Cal state in Berkeley. Chad was at Cal State East Bay while Sharpay was at the Art institute for Fashion Design.

They had always been inseparable since kindergarten. We all lived on the same court. Sharpay and Ryan's house was at the end of the court, Kelsi's then Chad's. Gabriella's and Troy Bolton's were in the middle followed by Zeke and Taylor's. They were like siblings, if you messed with one then you messed with all. Except they weren't siblings. Sharpay had been sleeping with Zeke since Sophomore year. Gabriella dated Ryan Evans for six months. Chad was her first kiss and Troy Bolton took her virginity. Now Sharpay and Zeke were engaged to be married. Taylor and Chad were together. Ryan and Kelsi just broke up and were seeing other people. Gabriella was currently single but wasn't looking for anything serious. Troy dated here and there but nothing serious crossed his path as well.

"Gabriella!" She heard a sharp squeal and there was only one person that could be.

"Sharpay!" She said laughing, watching her best friend shuffle over to her. She had just seen her the night before. Sharpay's thin arms wrapped around Gabriella's petite yet perfectly sculpted body.

"Did you get a boob job?" Sharpay asked, placing her hands on Gabriella's chest.

Gabriella threw her head back, laughing. She could only imagine the looks they were getting but this was normal for her. "I found Victoria's Secret." Gabriella smirked, peeling her friends hands off her chest. "Is everybody here?"

"Troy isn't here yet but he's late for everything." Sharpay said, waving her hand. "I saved you a seat." She curled her hand into Gabriella's and pulled her along to the table with her friends.

"Ry Ry!" Gabriella cried, throwing her arms around the blonde boy. "I missed you so much, how's New York? Tell me everything!"

Ryan chuckled. "Of course, we have to catch up."

"Gabi! You look fabulous." Kelsi said, wrapping her arms around the brunette.

"Look at you! I love your hair, I'm so glad you kept growing it out." Gabi said, reaching out to touch her soft auburn curls. Kelsi was gorgeous. She had natural beauty; she had perfect porcelain skin and her natural hair was just the prettiest red. Gabriella always wished she could look as good as she did without even trying.

"Hello beautiful." Chad said, leaning up to kiss Gabriella's cheek. "About time you got here. I was about to think Bolton beat you here."

"Yeah right." Gabriella countered, taking the empty seat behind Taylor. "Hey." Gabriella said breathlessly.

"I got you a glass of wine." Taylor said pushing over the glass of red.

"Thank you dearly." She picked up her glass, taking a long sip. She put it down as a well dressed man approached their table inconspicuously. He slid in the seat beside Gabriella. "Wow, you clean up nice Bolton."

"Martha practically attacked me at the sign in table." Troy grumbled, stealing the girls glass of wine and swallowing the rest in one big gulp. "It's going to be one of those nights. Can you get me another glass of wine, Gabi?"

Gabriella laughed, smoothing down the back of his hair. "Sure thing. You better hide though. Nicole Kenter is making her way over here."

"You know what? I'll just go with you." He said, straightening his tie as he got up. His hand was placed on her waist as they approached the bar area. "Two glasses of red, please." Troy moved her curls from her shoulder and smiled down at her. "You are looking so hot Gab."

"In your dreams Bolton." Gabriella murmured.

"What?" Troy tried to feint innocence but his thoughts were the opposite of innocent. He sent her a wink that sent chills down her spine. She kept a straight face as she took the glass from the bar.

"You should be nice to me. I'm protecting you from all the college drop outs." Gabriella said with a small smirk. Troy took the other glass and slid his hand down her waist to her behind. He gave her round backside a nice squeeze. Her arm reacted with a soft punch to his stomach. "Keep your hands off my ass."

"You won't be saying that later." Troy whispered against her ear as they headed back to the table they were sitting at.

"There's Bolton!" Chad called, getting up to greet his friend.

Gabriella made her way back to her seat, taking a sip as she turned to Taylor. "When is this thing over?"

"Don't be grumpy." Taylor warned. "We have to listen to a couple speeches, watch a little film and reminisce about our glory days."

Gabi snorted. "More like Bolton's Glory days."

"Heard that Montez!" Troy said pointing over to her. She just rolled her eyes, ignoring her best friends usual cocky behavior. She loved him to death because he wasn't an ass all the time. Troy Bolton had his moments. His most real moment was after they had sex for the first time. It was a couple days before graduation. It was awkward but they claimed to have 'gotten it over with' before college. It meant as much to her as it did to him.

She never fawned over Troy Bolton. She didn't think much of herself back then. He swore up and down he wasn't just trying to take advantage of her. Their relationship had always been complicated. They were like Ross and Rachel from FRIENDS. Their feelings always off and on- never synching to the same feeling at the same time. It always seemed to work out though.

They'd slept together a couple times after the first time. It got better each time. Some were drunken mistakes, others were just helping out a friend after a bad break up and others were just pure boredom. Gabriella often thought back to their first time after they had done it or at some of Troy's cockiest moments. He held her in his arms and they had a serious conversation.

They talked about everything. They started off about her parents- how they seemed so in love after 20 years. It suddenly turned over to Troy's family. His parents had recently split due to his father coming out of the closet. His mother moving out and his father's boyfriend moving in. It was a hard time for Troy but he was accepting of his father and Mark, his now step-father. Then when the conversation had turned to college they shared their fears of growing up and moving on. They didn't want any of them to drift apart. They were a unit, a family, a puzzle with each person fitting with each other like puzzle pieces.

"Gabriella, are you listening to me?" Taylor asked, snapping Gabriella out of the other world she was in.

Gabriella frowned slightly, glancing at her friend. "Sorry, got lost for a minute."

"I see that." Taylor replied dryly. "Take two sips of wine and you're off in la la land."

Gabriella let out a giggle, taking another sip of her wine. The room got settled down and Troy took his spot next to Gabriella. His warm hand rested on her knee. It looked like Troy had some plans he didn't quite share with her. Martha came up to the microphone.

Taylor was in the middle of finals when she was approached about the five year reunion. She passed the planning off to Martha, yet keeping in contact and sharing the decision making. When it came down to it Martha had planned most of it with Taylor's approval. She let Martha take the reigns at the little meeting they had a couple weeks prior. Taylor loved her school and loved her class but she had more important things to worry about then a reunion and Martha was more than happy to do it.

"Welcome back East High Wildcats! Class of 2007. It's been a short five years and it's so great seeing all the familiar faces. Some people you can't even recognize like Gabriella Montez, girl you look so hot." Gabriella's cheeks turned a bright red and Troy squeezed her knee. "And some people look the exact same as they did in high school, Chad Danforth." Everybody let out a small chuckle. "We went though a lot the four years we walked the halls of East High, we're going to go back, all the way to freshman year and relive it all again."

A white sheet fell behind her and a projector was turned on in the middle of the ballroom everybody was in. Gabriella sat back, looking at her friends. Troy's hand moved from her knee to around her shoulder. He leaned over and whispered into her ear. "Can I come over tonight?"

Gabi looked over at him a little surprised. "My mom will be home and you're staying fifty feet away from me." She whispered back to him.

"I'll sneak in." He said, leaning in closer the tip of his nose touching hers. "Your mom won't even notice I'm there. Keep your balcony doors unlocked."

She sighed, moving her face away from his. She nodded briefly as she turned to look at the screen. The little slide show started and she felt herself getting sucked back into high school. Freshman year was hard being in a new school and trying to find yourself. Her friends were always there if she needed anything. As for sophomore year she get comfortable, setting into the clubs and the AP and Honors courses she was enrolled in. Junior year was her toughest, she was prepping for college and applying for jobs and trying to just survive high school. Senior year was the most fun. She felt a little care free and a little terrified. She was enjoying being with her friends in the building they felt was like their home.

A picture of senior prom popped up. It was Troy and Gabriella dancing with her head on his shoulder and his arms wrapped around her waist. They had gone as a friend group with the exception of the couples. She danced a little with her friends but that was her first and last slow dance with a boy.

"We danced at prom?" Troy asked quietly in her ear as the picture faded into another.

She nodded slowly. "Yeah, you were a little drunk from the spiked punch. You asked me to dance though." She shared quietly. "We were cute."

He gave her one of his infamous half smiles. He always had brilliant facial expressions, they showed each of his emotions at face value. Troy was an open book, unlike her. "We still are cute." He said, kissing her ear earning another smack. He knew it wouldn't be the first or the last of the day.

* * *

"So girls are two and six months. They are so beautiful. Little Cindy is the oldest and Erin is the baby. Just look at them!" Kelly Overman, well now Kelly Johnson shared with Gabriella. She showed her a picture of two little girls on her phone.

"They're cute." Gabriella said with a forced smile. She didn't know how she got stuck talking to Kelly Overman. Kelly was a cheerleader and Gabi wasn't particularly friends with them in high school. She looked for anyone to save her.

"There you are!" Kelsi said walking up to her. Gabriella sent her a thankful smile. "Troy was looking for you."

"Troy Bolton's here!?" Kelly asked, a little too excited for a married woman. "God, does he look as good as he did in high school?"

Gabi blinked, feeling a tug on her hand. "Bye." She said without answering her questions. Kelsi pulled her along to Ryan. "Thank you, so much."

"Ryan saw you, thought you could use some saving." Kelsi said nudging her ex-boyfriend.

"How are you guys?" Gabriella asked softly. Their break up was a surprise to Gabriella especially. She thought they had the real deal.

"We have our days." Ryan said with a sad smile. "But we're best friends and nothing is going to change that." He hugged his arm around Kelsi's neck. "New York takes a lot out of you. How's California? How's Stanford?"

Gabriella smiled brightly. "I love it. Everything there just makes me so happy. I love my classes, I love our house, even if I'm sharing a bathroom with Bolton." Kelsi giggled slightly. "It's wonderful. I just wish you guys were there too." I said with a small pout.

"I don't think you can fit two more people into that house." Ryan chuckled.

"Bolton's big head barely fits into it."

"Talking about me again, I see." Troy's voice said softly in Gabriella's ear. She flinched when he put his hands on her hips. She reached back and smacked him unknowingly close to his family jewels. He gasped, scooting back. "That was close."

Gabriella turned around. "What did I tell you about scaring me Bolton?"

Troy sighed, putting his arm around Gabriella's shoulder. "Bolton, don't scare me. Were your exact words, I believe."

"You are such a smart ass." Gabriella muttered taking his arm from his shoulder. His hand slid down her back to her butt. "Troy, knock it off."

"Come here, come with me." Troy said quietly towards her. He took her hand and dragged her away from the ball room into the quiet hallway.

"Why are you being all perverted today?" Gabriella asked as she leaned against a wall between two pillars. "I already said you can come over tonight."

Troy sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. These girls are watching me and I kind of told a couple of them that we were together."

Gabriella's eyes widened. "What? Why did you go and do that?"

"Because they were all over me."

"Well you should have told me first." Gabriella crossed her arms. They studied each other for a moment. "I could have been just telling people stories until listening to them. Okay, what have you told people so far?"

Troy looked at the brunette, surprised. This is why he loved his best friend. She'd go along with anything he'd tell her. It got him our of a lot of shit. His smile grew. "Not much. We've been dating for a couple weeks now."

Gabriella licked her lips. "Okay, if people ask from now on. You asked me out at the beach, we're still adjusting to being in a relationship but we're very happy."

"Do I get a kiss?" He asked with a smirk.

"Only if your good… and you should tell everybody else."

"Come on, just one kiss in front of everyone."

"Fine."

"This means I get to touch your butt whenever I want."

"Don't push it Bolton."

Troy just grinned, sliding his hand in hers and walking with her back into the ballroom. There was now music playing. He knew she wasn't a big fan of dancing but he lead her out to the dance floor anyway. He wrapped his arms around her waist. Gabriella reluctantly wrapped her arms around his neck. Gabriella was looking off in the distance, rubbing her lips together. Troy watched her and frowned. He released his breath when she laid her head against his shoulder.

He kept his hands above her waist, stroking the small of her back outside of her cocktail dress. She looked simply beautiful. She was always beautiful to him, even with a mouthful of braces and big glasses that took up her face. Troy knew that whoever ended up marring her would be the luckiest guy in the world. She had it all. She was beautiful and smart and she had the biggest heart.

The first time Troy had really saw her in a different light was in the fourth grade. It was a week before valentines day. His mom was asking him all these questions about what he wanted to get his friends. He picked out special cards for each one of his friends and some generic ones for the rest of the class. He handed them out personally. Troy knew that Gabriella was obsessed with Minnie Mouse so he bought her a box of chocolates with Minnie Mouse on it. She kissed his cheek and he fell hard.

It was always the simplest things that attracted him to her. The way she rubbed her lips together when she was nervous or uncomfortable. It was the way she stayed up with him when his parents marriage started to fall apart. It was the way she'd let him sneak in her balcony and let him stay and helped with his homework. She was a godsend to him, an angel on earth and all he'd been was an ass to her.

Gabriella stood up straight and watched him frown. She wondered what he was thinking about. He was obviously not pleased with his thoughts. She brushed her fingers though the back of his hair. He jerked slightly, his eyes finding hers. "Lost you for a second Bolton."

He gave her a half smirk. "Just reliving the wonder years."

She laughed slightly. "What was that? Senior year?"

"Fourth grade." He said with a shrug.

"Nothing happened in the forth grade. Well other than the fact that Chad gave you a black eye for cutting a curl off his head." Troy suddenly chuckled. "What?" Gabriella asked with a smile.

Troy shook his head with a small smile on his face. "We've been through a lot."

"We all have."

"I was in love with you in fourth grade. I made my mom spend like ten bucks on that Minnie Mouse valentine I got you." She smiled at him. "You were the most beautiful fourth grader." She threw her head back laughing. "That came out wrong."

"You were pretty cute too, you know? Until the frosted tips."

Troy groaned while Gabriella burst into another fit of giggles. "It was the thing to do back then!"

She just shook her head, grasping the back of his neck. She just had to kiss him. She placed her lips on his familiar ones. He pulled her petit body closer to his, placing soft kisses against her lips. Something changed within Gabriella. She suddenly couldn't wait for tonight, wondering what was in store.

He pulled his lips away from hers after their last, final kiss. He licked his lips quickly. "You still got it, Montez."

She tilted her head, confused. "Still got what?" She asked softly.

"You still manage to take my breath away." He placed a piece of her hair behind her ear.

Gabriella didn't know what to say. She still didn't know what to say when they parted ways on the dance floor, she found her wine and finished the rest of it. Her friends were looking at her weird but all she could think about was him, his words, and his lips. She quickly went to the bathroom with Taylor and shook out of whatever weird trance that she was in.

Gabriella didn't see Troy for the rest of the night, not that she was looking or anything. As the group got smaller she decided it was best that she went as well. Taylor called her a cab and walked her out. She did have a couple glasses of wine. Taylor promised to pick her up tomorrow morning to get her car. She paid the driver and walked inside. She figured her parents were sleeping already so she headed up the stairs. I opened the door to my room and closed it quietly. She unzipped the dress and let it fall to the floor.

"You should have worn that to the reunion." A warm voice said from the other side of the room.

She jumped about ten feet, too shocked to even scream. "Troy, I swear to God." She said breathlessly, pressing her hand to her chest to calm her pounding.

Troy chuckled whole heartedly, putting his arms behind his head as he relaxed on her childhood bed. "I've been here for like a half hour, where have you been?"

"I was reuniting with all the people I didn't talk to during high school." She said with short laugh. She walked over to the bed and laid next to him. He gave me a small kiss on my lips. "So are we having sex now or later?"

Troy laughed at her bluntness. "What kind of man do you take me for?"

"A perverted… arrogant… cocky…" He shut her up with a kiss. She couldn't help but giggle, leaning against him. "You've always been alright in my book, Bolton."

"I know." He said softly. "Why do you think I can get away with so much?"

"Because I've known you since we were kids. We grew up together. We went through a lot. We're going to go through a lot more when we get careers and get married and have kids. You'll be Uncle Bolton."

"Or Daddy." He said with a smirk.

She glared at him. "You wouldn't want to marry me anyhow. We're too different."

"Nah, we'd be fine."

"What are you trying to say, Bolton?" He shrugged noncommittally. "Anyway, we have a lot more things to go through."

"Gab."

"Yeah?"

"Stop talking about the future, you're bumming me out."

"Sorry." Gabriella said with an innocent smile. She wrapped her leg around his waist. She sat up in his lap, tossing her dark curls back. "What?" She asked as he stared up at her.

Troy shook his head, licking his lips. "You're just so beautiful." She leaned down, pressing her chest against his.

She placed a chaste kiss against his lips. "You're sweet when you want to be Bolton."

"Oh baby, I can be real sweet." He said, covering her mouth with his, rolling on top of her.

* * *

**This is my new story guys. I know I don't really do third person but I wanted to Try soemting new. I hope ya'll like it and want more. I'm debating on making it M-rated in the future. For now it's T though. I guess you can see the dynamic between the two. This is just how the story begins. The next chapter will take place after a couple of weeks. Dunno how long this story will be cause i'm currently still writing it. Seriously though, let me know what you think. Don't forget to review.**


	2. September 1

**September 1, 2012**

"So are you over that bug?" Taylor asked Gabriella as they curled up on the couch. They were having a movie night while the Boys were out and about. Taylor popped a couple of pieces of freshly made popcorn into her mouth before she turned to Gabriella for her answer.

"Yep." Gabriella said shortly. "It was just a stomach bug." She sipped her tea slowly, enjoying the warmth fill her body. "Dr. Gladstone says I can come back to work tomorrow."

"Did you get your books yet?" Taylor asked, glancing over at her friend.

"Not yet." She said softly.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Gabriella said, getting up. "I don't think I'm up for a movie tonight actually. I just going to head off to bed, I'm pretty tired."

Taylor frowned. "Okay, I'll see you in the morning then."

"I'm sorry Tay." Gabriella said with a frown.

She forced a small smile. "It's alright, goodnight."

"Night." Gabriella dumped the tea in the sink and went off into her room. She took a seat on her bed and pulled the book out from under her pillow. It'd been a week since she took the test, a week since she went to the doctor and confirmed. Bolton had knocked her up. She'd been avoiding him, avoiding everybody actually.

Gabriella picked up the What to Expect When You're Expecting book from Barnes and Noble on the way back from the doctor. She was seven weeks today. She flipped to the book marked page and started reading a little more about her condition. She knew she had to tell Bolton, she had to tell somebody. This little secret was tearing her apart mentally- or maybe it was just the emotions that came with it.

Just remembering that she was actually pregnant made her a little queasy. She played off the worst week of sickness as the flu, now she just had to choke it down until her insomnia kicked in or if she was alone. She tried not to draw too much attention to herself especially to her friends. There was a knock at the door. She closed the book and shoved it under her pillow. "Come in."

Bolton and Chad stepped into her room, looking at the red faced girl sitting on the bed. "Hey." Chad said wearily. "Are you okay? Tay said you were acting weird, is that bug still bothering you?"

Gabriella swallowed. "Kind of." She did feel bad about lying to her friends, but she couldn't tell them yet. "I'm just tired and I didn't want to sit though another romance movie again."

Troy quirked his eyebrow. "Why are you all red?"

"Because it's hot in here Bolton." Gabriella snapped. "I'm tired, can you let me sleep?" She asked impatiently.

"Are you on drugs?"

"Are you stupid?"

"No drugs." Chad said with a defeated sigh. "Gabi, you know you can tell us anything right? We've been friends forever."

"Nothing is wrong Chad." She said calmly.

"Just let her sleep." Troy said, looking over at his friend. His eyes flicked over to her and she narrowed her eyes at him. Chad turned out and walked out the door. Troy closed the door behind him and walked over to Gabriella. "Are you mad at me?"

"A little."

"For what?"

"No reason."

"Gab."

"What?"

"What's going on?" He asked, concerned.

Gabriella sighed, annoyed. "Nothing Bolton. I'm just having an off couple of weeks, can I go to bed?"

"Can I have a kiss?"

"Get out." Gabriella said shortly. A sudden anger bubbled up inside of her, that was the reason she was in this situation in the first place. "Get out." She hissed.

"Whoa, sorry." He said, getting up. "Night Gabs."

She didn't say anything as she got up and locked the door after him. She took her seat on her bed and picked up the book again. She sighed, feeling a sudden rush of emotions. Her baby was the size of a blueberry the book said. Weird. It was all so weird to her. She was going to be a mom and Troy a dad. Her parents were going to be grandparents. She had to tell her parents. She closed her eyes, feeling a bit nauseous. Maybe it was time for bed. She closed the book and put it back under her pillow. She turned out the lights, sliding under the covers.

* * *

"Hello?" Sharpay's voice said at the end of Taylor's phone call. It was round noon. She was working in the Political Science department at Stanford. Gabriella worked over in the Law department. They did everything from tutoring to paperwork. Taylor was sitting at her desk, her sandwich untouched.

"Have you talked to Gabi lately?" Taylor wondered.

Sharpay thought back. "Not since like that day we went to lunch. Why? I heard she was sick. Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she was. She had some kind of flu. She puked for like four days straight." Sharpay made a sound of disgust. "She said she was fine but I think something else is up with her. She hasn't been herself lately."

Sharpay popped her gum. "It's probably just from the flu. I remember when I had the stomach flu, I didn't feel like myself until like three weeks later. We're still on for tonight right? Dinner in the city?"

Taylor nodded even though her friend couldn't see. "Sounds good. I'll drag Gabi out tonight."

"Good. We go to the hookah lounge after." Sharpay suggested. "Hey, my class is about to start, call me if anything changes."

"Of course. Love you."

"Love you too, bye." Sharpay said, hanging up her phone.

Taylor got up and picked up her lunch. She decided to pay a visit to her best friend across campus. She nibbled on her sandwich as she made her way to the Law department. You would think, two majors that go hand and hand would be right next to each other, but they aren't. They're a five minute speed walk away. She finished her sandwich by the time she got there.

Gabriella was picking at the PB and J Troy made her for lunch. He offered and she reluctantly accepted, they were her favorite. She knew she should eat it but she didn't feel like eating. She did, however, sip her smoothie that her coworker brought her. She had a sudden craving for something fruity and the smoothie hit the spot.

"Hey!" She looked up to see Taylor standing in the doorway.

"Hey Tay." She said, ripping off a piece of her PB and J. "What are you doing over here?"

Taylor took a seat in front the desk. "Just coming over to say hi and to tell you we're going to dinner tonight with Sharpay."

"Bu-"

"And we're not taking no for an answer." Taylor said firmly. "So you better be ready by the time Shar and Zeke get there." Taylor said, taking a drink of the water bottle she was holding.

Gabriella sighed. "Fine, I'll go to dinner."

Taylor smiled. "Great! Maybe the boys will come too."

Gabriella laughed half-heartedly. "Yeah."

"Alright, I should be heading back. I'll see you tonight." Taylor said popping up. "Bye Gab."

"Bye." She replied softly, waving as her friend walked away. She managed to eat half of her sandwich without even noticing. She glanced at her watch and decided to get back to work. She wanted to get home early to have a little time for herself before everybody came over.

She walked in her house calling out a greeting. She was met with only silence. Gabriella made her way to her room. She picked up her towel and went into her shared bathroom.. A nice long shower would do her some good. She managed to clear her head and have a peaceful shower, feeling much better than she had since she came back from Albuquerque.

Gabriella got dressed into a nice loose fitting dress. All of her tight dresses would not zip up. She surprising wasn't as upset as she thought she would be. She checked the time and pulled the book out from under her pillow. She brought it into the living room and took a seat on the couch.

She opened it to the book marked page. She stared long and hard at her book mark. It was a sonogram picture. She kept the only copy that didn't have her name on it. There wasn't much to look at it was a circle in bigger circle. It was a just going to get bigger. She shook out of her thoughts and continued reading the chapter she was on.

Gabriella made it through half of a new chapter before she heard the door opening. She froze, putting her book under the coffee table and sitting back on the couch, quickly turning on the TV. "Hey Gabster." Chad said, walking in with Troy.

"Hey guys." She said, giving them a small smile.

"You look nice." Chad commented. "Dinner tonight?"

She nodded. "You guys coming?"

Troy shrugged. "We're thinking about it."

"Okay." She said with a small smile. She leaned back against the couch and looked over at the TV. Chad walked by patting her head. She then felt a kiss on the top of her head. She shook her head to herself with small smile.

"Hey!" Taylor said walking in ten minutes later. "I'm in need of a serious shower." She murmured, walking past Gabriella. "Sharpay will be here in a half hour, you might want to do your hair."

"You're right." Gabriella said, turning off the TV. She got up and went into the bathroom.

"I need to shower." Troy said, walking in after her, turning on the shower. "You don't mind right?"

She shook her head, pulling out her blow drier. "Go ahead." Troy closed the door behind him and took off his shirt. She plugged in her blow drier as he walked by her, naked. She took a double take and watched him climb into the shower in the mirror.

She started on her hair, brushing through it while she dried. Once it was completely dry she plugged in her straightened. She separated her hair into sections while it heated up. Troy stepped out of the shower, grabbing his towel. He rubbed the towel against his head before he wrapped it around his waist.

"What?" Troy said when he noticed her staring.

"Nothing." She said, picking up her straightened and started on her hair.

He sighed, walking out of the bathroom. She brushed her straightened hair after she was done. She parted it down the middle before putting her tools away. She walked out of the bathroom just in time for Sharpay to walk in.

"Hey!" Sharpay said in her usual flamboyant tone. "Look who we picked up on the way here." She pointed to the doorway towards her brother.

"Ryan." Gabriella said softly, wrapping him in a tight hug. "What are you doing down here?"

"Just needed to get away from New York and I thought I'd see my favorite people." He said. "Love your hair."

Gabriella smiled. "Thank you."

"Where the hell is Taylor?" Sharpay asked, sitting on the couch.

"She got off a little late, don't be too hard on her."

Ryan took a seat next to his sister while Gabriella took a seat on the chair in the room. "What magazines do you have?" Ryan asked as he bent down to look under the table. He looked wide eyed as he picked up a book. "What's this?"

"What's what?" Zeke asked as he walked in the house, closing the door behind him.

"What to Expect When You're Expecting." Ryan read the cover.

"What to what?" Troy asked, walking in the room.

"Oh my god." Sharpay said. "It must be Taylor's! Did she say anything to you about it?"

"There's a picture in it." Ryan said, holding up the sonogram picture. "What is this? She must have just found out."

"She didn't tell me anything." Gabriella said, trying not to show the fear and anxiety she was feeling.

"Chad definitely doesn't know." Troy said. "Maybe they're trying to keep it under wraps."

"Probably." Zeke agreed."

"We shouldn't bring it up then." Gabriella piped up quickly.

"Agreed." Ryan said. He put the picture back in the book and the book under the table.

Taylor and Chad came out of their room, laughing. "Are we ready to go?" Taylor asked with a smile.

We all stood up and filed out the door. We were seated at a restaurant just an hour later. "Bathroom time." Sharpay piped up. "Ladies."

Gabriella groaned. She hated going to the bathroom with Sharpay. She talks the whole time; while peeing, after peeing. She slid out of her chair, standing up. They made their way into the bathroom. Gabriella went straight into a stall and Taylor went into the one next to hers while Sharpay looked at herself.

"Can you hand me some toilet paper?" Taylor asked. Gabriella handed her some. They seemed to flush and walk out at the same time. Gabriella let Taylor wash her hands first. She moved out of the way to let Gabi wash her hands.

"I totally wasn't going to bring this up. Why didn't you tell us you were pregnant?" Sharpay asked Taylor. Gabi froze as she washed her hands.

Taylor looked at Sharpay, confused. "What? Did you say pregnant?"

"Yeah! We saw your picture and the book in the living room."

"What picture? Wait what are you talking about?"

"Your pregnancy book!"

"I'm not pregnant!" Taylor said, laughing a little bit.

"What do you mean you're not pregnant? Who's stuff was that then? There was a book and a picture and you're-" She stopped and turned to look at Gabriella who was drying off her hands with a paper towel. "Gabi?!" Shar shrieked.

Gabi looked at both of her friends wide eyed. "Gabi." Taylor said more softly. "You're pregnant?"

She looked away from them. "Oh my god." Sharpay managed to say. "Who's the father?"

"Who is the father?" Taylor asked.

"I was going to ask you why your tits looked bigger, now we know why." Sharpay said.

"Sharpay!" Taylor reprimanded Sharpay. "We have to tell everybody."

"No!" Gabi said, on the verge of tears. "please, please don't tell anybody. Can you pretend like you're pregnant for like a week while I tell the father?"

"Is it Troy? I bet it's Troy. Or Ryan."

"It's it professor Gladstone? Is that how you got the week off?"

Gabriella closed her eyes, rubbing her forehead. She was getting a major headache. "I'll tell you after I tell him. I promise."

"Fine. I need a drink after all this drama." Taylor muttered.

"You're telling me." Gabi mumbled, leading them out of the bathroom.

They took a seat. "Is everything okay?" Chad asked as they took a seat. The girls nodded silently, picking up their menus. It got awkwardly quiet while they browsed their menus.

The waiter came up and walked over to us. "Hi I'm Dan, I'll be your waiter. Can I start you off with drinks or appetizers?"

"I'll have iced tea." Ryan started off, he was closest to the waiter. "Unsweetened, extra lemon."

"Glass of merlot, please." Sharpay said, without even glancing up at the waiter.

"Water for me."

"A margarita." Taylor said, half of the table looked up at her. We shot daggers at her. "Um, kidding. I'll have water… with lemon." She mumbled, glaring Gabriella.

Gabriella frowned, mouthing an apology. "I'll have a Stella." Chad said, glancing over at her. Gabriella didn't know how she always ended up between Troy and Chad.

"Water." Gabriella said. "No lemon, extra ice."

"I'll just have a coke." Troy said, glancing over at Taylor. Gabriella avoided eye contact from her friends who knew the truth. "Gabsy, what are you going to get?" Troy's warm voice asked her.

"Not sure yet."

"I'll get chicken and you get salmon and we'll share?"

Gabriella shook her head. "I'm not in a fishy mood." She frowned, looking over at Troy. "Sorry."

"It's okay." He said, touching her back gently.

"I kind of want pasta." She murmured. "What do you think?"

Troy licked him lips, looking at the menu. "Steak?"

"Ooh, you should get a baked potato and give me some."

He looked at her with a little smirk. "Baked potato and pasta doesn't go well together."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "So."

"I'll give you my baked potato. Too many carbs anyway."

"You are such girl." She said, rolling her eyes again, setting her menu down just as Dan the waiter came back. She stuck the straw into her water when she got it. She took a drink before she set it down. We ordered our food and She watched her friends talk amongst them selves, laughing when appropriate.

Taylor and Sharpay were watching her eat. Gabriella felt unnerved with all the attention. Chad excused himself and walked to the restroom and everybody then turned their attention to Taylor. "So does Chad know about the baby?" Ryan asked.

She choked on the rice she was eating. "Excuse me?"

"How far along are you?" Zeke asked from a couple seats down. "Do you know your due date?"

Gabriella shifted uncomfortably. Her stomach started churning a little bit, flash of nausea came over her. She choked it down, trying to seem as normal as possible. She really needed to tell Troy soon. Taylor took a drink of water. "You guys. I'm not pregnant."

"But what about-."

"My coworker Michelle came over and she left it." Taylor said simply.

"Oh." Ryan said, sitting back. "Why didn't you just say that in the first place?"

"You guys never gave me the chance to." Taylor said, crossing her arms. Her eyes were burning Gabriella's skin. She looked up at Taylor and pushed her own hair back. "So now we don't have to talk about it anymore, got it?"

"Got it." The boys repeated.

"They have the coolest hand dryer in the bathroom." Chad said as he sat down next to Gabriella. He put his arm on the back of her chair.

"Glad to know you wash your hands after you pee." Gabriella said sarcastically.

Everybody else chuckled. Chad squeezed her side and she squealed. It was one of her many tickle spots that the boys knew about. They always picked on her. She grabbed his hand, placing it in his lap before punching his leg. "What were we talking about?"

"Your pee hands." He reached over to tickle her again. "Do it again and I swear to god, I'll shave your head while your sleeping."

Chad frowned. "You're not touching my hair."

Gabriella giggled, feeling a little accomplished. She got up, heading off to the bathroom herself. She frowned when she saw blood. She wasn't feeling too bad. But she decided she needed to get checked out anyway. She swallowed nervously.

Gabriella cleaned herself up and washed her hands. She back to the table, picking up her purse. "Where are you going?" Sharpay asked, looking up at her friend.

"Something came up and I have to go. I'll be back tonight." Gabriella said, pulling out a couple of bills and handed them to Troy. "Here, I'll pay you back the rest when I get home. I have to go."

"Do you need me to come with you?" He asked.

"No, no. I'm fine, I just have to go." She leaned down, kissing Chad and Troy on the cheek. "It's nice to see you Ry. If you're here for a while come back to the house and see me, okay?" She gave him a cheek kiss as well. "Bye guys." She waved briefly and rushed out of the restaurant.

* * *

She walked down the street, there was an emergency room just a block away. She tried to keep calm but her mind was racing. Gabriella could feel a slight cramping in her abdomen and prayed it wasn't what she thought it was. She rushed in and had to fill out paperwork. She did it as fast as she could and handed it back.

Time seemed to be still as she waited to be called in. They took her in and gave her a gown to get dressed in. She laid on the bed when she was ready. These past two weeks that she's known she hasn't intentionally touched her belly. Under these circumstances she pressed her hand on her flat stomach. She felt nothing inside of her and she prayed it was a good thing.

"Hello, I'm Doctor Ashford. I understand you're pregnant and you've had some bleeding?" Gabriella nodded her head. "Eight weeks along?"

"Seven." She corrected quietly. "No major cramping. I was just concerned."

He nodded his head. "I'm just going to make sure everything is okay. You'll feel some slight discomfort." Dr. Ashford poked and pried and she tried not to think too much about it. "Everything seems to be okay. I'm just going to give you an ultrasound and we'll know for sure."

"Alright." Gabriella said with a deep breath. She pulled up the drape across her lap and laid back.

The doctor came back in with a machine. He spent a couple minutes setting up. He pulled up her gown to expose her stomach. She felt the cold gel as he put it on her body. He held the wand in his hand and turned the second screen towards Gabriella.

He pressed the device on her stomach. He moved it around and she watched on the screen. She saw a bigger circle where the little circle was in the picture she had in the book. It's so weird how much it could change in the two weeks that went by. There was a loud wooshing noise that filled the room.

"Fantastic. It looks like everything is just fine. Bleeding is common. If it get worse or any cramping continues, come back. Just get a lot of rest, drink a lot of fluids, and relax. I'll get you a picture and you can be on your way."

"Can you call me a cab?" Gabriella asked. "I was eating dinner and walked over here."

"No problem, Gabriella. I'll be right back."

Dr. Ashland came back with a picture. Gabriella got dressed while somebody called for her. She gathered her things and walked out of the room. She waited for the cab outside and took a deep breath of relief. Everything was fine, for now. Her baby was okay.

* * *

**Not alot to say today. Well except that i am in love with Ariana Grande's new album. I can't help it. She's so freaking talented. sigh. Okay. Don't forget to review.**


	3. September 12

**September 12, 2012**

"God, that man is insatiable." Taylor mumbled as she walked out of her shared bedroom.

Gabriella snorted. She was curled up on the couch with her text book she was pre-reading. "You're lucky. I haven't had sex since the reunion."

"The reunion huh?" She asked, sitting next to her friend.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. She had avoided the subject of her pregnancy for two weeks. "Yep." She said.

"Huh. That'll be what, eight weeks?"

"I'll be ten weeks on Saturday." Gabriella informed quietly.

"Well shit." Taylor said, frowning. "I want some soup."

"I want a hotdog."

Taylor crinkled her nose. "Aren't you supposed to be eating healthy?"

"I can eat whatever I want. It will have to deal with it." Gabriella closed her book, setting it on the table. "Ice cream and hotdogs."

"Now that's disgusting." Taylor said with a laugh.

"Fuck off." Gabriella grumbled. She pushed herself off the couch and headed for the kitchen. "Do we have ice cream?"

Troy slid through the door and walked into the kitchen. "Hey Gabsy." He kissed the side of her head.

Gabriella gave him a small smile, opening the freezer. "Hey, do we have ice cream? Aha!" She grabbed a carton and opened it. Much to her surprise, it was empty. She cursed and threw it in the garbage. "Who puts an empty carton of ice cream in the freezer? Chad Christopher Danforth."

Troy chuckled. "Hey Gabsy, can you help me get ready for my date? I have like a half hour to get ready and leave."

She frowned, turning to look at him. "What do you need me to do?" She asked slowly.

"Just some nice clothes. You know what looks good on me." He shrugged.

Gabriella took a deep breath. She didn't quite know how she felt bout it, how she felt about Troy going on a date. She guessed it was from the fact that she was carrying his child, but he didn't know that. She hadn't told anybody who the father was. She told her parents she was pregnant, but other than that only Sharpay and Taylor know. Tonight would definitely not be the right night to tell him.

"So will you do it?"

She looked at him, snapping out of her thoughts. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Thanks! You're the best." He kissed her cheek. "I'll bring you back some ice cream."

Gabriella gave him a half hearted smile and walked over to Troy's room. She pushed his door open and sighed. She started off with collecting the dirty laundry on the floor. She shook her head, shoving the clothes in the hamper. When she was finished with that she looked at what he had hanging in the closet. She plucked a nice black button up, sniffing it to make sure it was clean. She placed it on his bed before she went through his drawers.

It must be a special date. He only lets her pick his clothes when he really wants to make a good impression. She frowned again at the thought. He pulled out some dark jeans and placed them next to the shirt. He found a nice pair of shoes in his collection. The only clothing item he kept neat were his shoes. He had more pairs of shoes than she did actually.

She turned to walk out of the room and ran into a wet Troy. "Hey, thanks for cleaning up." He said with a small grin.

Gabriella checked him out before she spoke. "You're welcome, have a good time." She said as she walked out of his room and into her own.

Troy put his clothes on and stepped into the bathroom. He brushed through his hair and Chad knocked on the door. "Hey man." Chad looked over at him.

"Hey." Troy said looking up at him. "What's up man?"

"Going out with Haley tonight?" Chad asked. Troy nodded. "Man, she's hot."

Troy chuckled. "Yeah, but I don't know if I want to anymore."

Taylor heard her boyfriend call somebody hot. She was about to hand his ass back to him but she listened to the conversation instead. "How come?" Chad asked Troy as they stood in the bathroom like a bunch of girls.

"Gabs was making eyes at me, man."

Chad groaned. "Not the Gabi thing again. Like I told you before, you have to be serious with her. You can't just sleep with her after the reunion and not commit."

Taylor's jaw dropped to the ground. The reunion. Gabi and Troy slept together. It didn't take a genius to figure out what that meant. "I know but Gabs always acts like she wants nothing to do with me after we have sex. What am I supposed to do?"

"Show her you care, don't just hit it and leave." Chad stressed, shaking his head.

"We'll talk about this later. I have to go right now though." Troy said, making his hair look perfect. He checked his teeth before he turned to Chad. "I'll see you later."

Chad shook his head as he watched him walk to the door. "Bye." He turned to see Taylor watching him. "What?"

Taylor shook her head. "Nothing. I have to have a little chat with Gabriella."

Chad froze. "Wait, you heard that?"

She nodded her head with a slow smirk. "Yes I did. I'll be right back."

"No! Don't tell her. I promised him I wouldn't." Chad begged.

Taylor sighed. "You owe me." Chad smirked devilishly. "Not in sexual favors. Chad, go take a cold shower."

Chad chuckled, leaning down to kiss the lips of the woman he loved. Sure, she was stubborn and sometimes mean but she had a good heart. When she loved, she loved hard. Taylor eased into the kiss before she pushed him away. "I love you."

"I love you too, baby." Chad murmured, pressing another kiss to her lips. "I'll be in the room, waiting for you."

Taylor shook her head and pulled out her cell. Chad went into the room and Taylor called Sharpay. Sharpay answered as her normal peppy self. "Hey Tay."

"So I have news."

"What?" She asked.

"Gabi got knocked up at the East High reunion… well after." Taylor shared quietly, watching the doors. She made sure they didn't open.

"Damn." Shar said with a laugh. "Who's the daddy?"

Taylor smiled to herself. "That's what I was trying to figure out but with a little eaves dropping I learned that the baby daddy is none other than our own little Troy Bolton."

Sharpay squealed. "No!"

"Yes!" Taylor said in excitement. "She doesn't know that I know or that now you know though."

"Oh my god. Are you going to confront her?"

"Yeah, I'm going to do that when we hang up." Taylor shared. "But there is something else."

Sharpay was reeling. "What? Tell me."

"Bolton is unadvisedly but undeniably in love with Gabi."

"Well we all knew that." Sharpay said, rolling her eyes.

"I know, but I actually kind of heard him admit it. It was refreshing."

Sharpay laughed. "Call me tomorrow. Tell me what Gabi says."

Taylor nodded. "Will do, love you bye."

"Love you, bye."

Taylor hung up, shoving her cell back into her pocket. She knocked on Gabi's door. "Gabs, you awake?"

"Yes, come in." Gabi called back to her.

Taylor walked in, closing the door behind her. Gabi was relaxed on the bed with her glasses on, reading her pregnancy book. "What chapter are you on?"

"Constipation and other digestive issues."

Taylor made a face. "Are you serious?"

Gabi giggled, shaking her head. "No."

Taylor sat next to her friend and sighed. "So, I know."

"You know what?" Gabi asked confused.

"I know that Troy is the father." Taylor said slowly, watching her face.

Gabi's gaze shot up at her. "How do you think you know that?"

"You last had sex at the reunion. I heard Bolton tell Chad you guys had sex at the reunion. I put two and two together. Gabi you have to tell him." Taylor said, putting her hand on Gabi's leg.

Gabi sighed, closing her book. "When do I tell him Taylor? In between dates?"

"What are you? Jealous?"

"I am not jealous." Gabi said, frowning. She felt herself getting mad. "I don't want him fucking around especially around my child."

"It's his child too! But he'll never know unless you tell him." Taylor said. "I love you and I love Troy. I would be all for it if I knew that he would just treat you like dirt. He'll be there for his child. Don't underestimate him."

"He doesn't have to know yet. He'll know when I want him to know." Gabriella said firmly.

Taylor sighed, deciding to leave it alone. "You better tell him before he finds a girlfriend. How fucked up would that be?"

"Get out." Gabi said, pointing to the door.

"Goodnight baby doll." Taylor said as she walked out the door.

Gabriella groaned, frustrated. She was going to have to tell him sooner or later. She decided to tell him tomorrow morning. Taylor and Chad were leaving early and Troy didn't have to go anywhere in the morning and I had work at one. "I just hope it all works out." Gabriella told herself, pressing her hand against her belly.

* * *

Troy slipped through the door the next morning around seven. He wasn't expecting to get home so late… or early. He had fallen asleep while Haley had tried to make a move on him. Let's just say she was not very happy. He took a quick trip to the grocery store, surprising himself that he actually remembered Gabi's ice cream. Troy stuck the two cartons in the freezer, closing it. He jumped when he saw Gabi standing on the other side with a cup of what looked like chocolate milk.

"'Shit, you scared me." Troy said.

"Sorry." Gabi replied. "I need to talk to you."

"About what?" He asked, shifting his weight.

"Do you remember what we did after the reunion?" She asked quietly. Her arms crossing over her chest, lifting up her swollen breasts. They'd already grown a full cup size. Troy couldn't help but stare.

He tore his eyes away from her chest and looked up at her. "Yeah, I think I know where you're going with this…"

Gabriella swallowed hard. "You do? Did Taylor tell you?"

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Did Taylor tell me what?"

"Okay, so were not talking about the same thing here." Gabriella figured. "You might want to sit down."

"No, I'm fine." He murmured, now frowning himself. "Tell me what's going on Gabsy."

"Although we were careful, that night." Gabriella rubbed her lips together, shifting again before she let out a breath. "I'm pregnant."

Troy started laughing slowly before he burst into a fit of laughter. "Oh god, Gab, you almost had me for a second there. I mean, we used condoms."

"They aren't completely effective." Gabi said, getting a little upset. "You don't have to be apart of it's life if you don't want to be Troy. I know you have a bright future and if you don't want it holding you back then I completely understand."

"I- how- wha- I-" Troy tried to form words.

"Just think about it, Troy." Gabriella said softly. She took her cup and walked back to her room. That went fairly well, she mused.

Troy on the other hand couldn't wrap his mind round it. She was the pregnant one. It was his child. He was going to be a father. He was going to have responsibilities. He felt like he couldn't breathe. He gripped the fridge door, taking a couple deep breaths.

He gathered up his courage and knocked loudly on Gabi's door. "Come in." He opened the door, closing it behind him.

"Marry me." The words just slipped out of his mouth.

Gabi looked up at him alarmed. "What?"

Troy swallowed thickly. "Marry me. We're going to have a kid. We should be married."

"I'm not going to marry you just because I'm pregnant Troy." Gabi said incredulously. "Come here, come sit by me." She patted the spot on her bed next to her. "We definitely need to talk about this."

He kicked his shoes off and took a seat where she instructed him to. She pulled the glasses off her face and set them down on the nightstand. "What are we going to do Gabsy?"

Gabriella sighed. She placed a hand on her stomach, resting her head against his shoulder. "I had four weeks to think about it, since I found out. I'm not completely sure what we're going to do honestly. We're both in Grad school, you're going to do the basketball thing. We're going to be okay though."

"How do you know?"

"Because we have each other. We're going to be awesome parents. It's going to be weird when we have to explain this to them. We've been friends forever and we have a group of friends that will support us no matter what stupid thing we do. My parents are very confused but they're going to support us as I imagine yours will." Gabriella reasoned.

Troy shifted stroking her hair. He reached over with his other hand, he moved his hand under her shirt to press his cold hand against her warm skin. "When are you due?"

"April 27th." She said, putting her hand over his. "They said it'll probably be a little late since it's going to be my first baby."

"When the time is right are we going to find out the gender?"

"I don't want to know but I'll probably change my mind later."

Troy sighed. "This is weird.."

"What?"

"The thought of us being parents. It's weird."

"Baby, it's going to be weird for the next eighteen years."

"Can you feel anything?" Troy asked.

Gabriella shook her head. "I feel a little nauseous but I don't think that's what you're talking about?"

"Morning sickness?" Troy asked with a frown.

"More like all day sickness. Normally cologne sets me off but I don't mind your smell."

Troy laughed. "God, how did we get ourselves into this?"

"We were horny and a little tipsy."

They laughed together, despite their fear of the future. He pressed a kiss to the side of her head. "I'm sorry for getting us into this Gabsy. I'll be here every step of the way. Our co-parenting isn't going to be that terrible." Gabi felt a rush of emotions hit her. Tears pricked her eyes and she turned away from him to wipe a stray tear. "Hey, why are you crying?"

"I don't know." She said honestly, sobbing harshly.

"Please don't cry." Troy begged, pulling her closer to him.

She buried her face into his nice black shirt. Troy held her, letting her calm down. She wiped her face against his shirt and sat up, trying to pull herself together. "I'm sorry we ruined our lives."

Troy's frown deepened. "Don't you dare say that. We didn't ruin our lives. We've been through a lot and this baby is just going to be another adventure."

Gabriella sniffed. "I need a nap."

"We're you waiting up for me?"

"Kind of. I knew it was time to tell you. I've been processing it for the last four weeks."

"I have to tell my parents."

"We have to tell our friends."

"We have to tell people in general." Troy pointed out.

Gabi nodded. "How was your date?"

Troy chuckled. "I fell asleep when we got back to her place. It's safe to say she's not going to go out with me again." Gabi giggled, closing her eyes. "She was nice though." The room was quiet as Troy stroked her hair slowly. She felt relaxed, about ready to fall asleep. "When is your next appointment?"

"Well I had an impromptu one the other night after dinner. My next one next month."

"Impromptu? Was that why you left so fast?" Troy asked.

She sighed. "I was bleeding, I thought I was…" She swallowed, not even wanting to say the words. "I thought I was miscarrying. When I went to the Emergency room, they said everything was fine." Gabriella shifted, pulling the book out from under her pillow. She pulled out her current ultrasound picture. "This is it."

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked, sitting up straighter. He took the small picture and got a closer look. "That's it?"

Gabriella gave him a half smile. "Yeah, It's only a fetus."

"Looks like me." He joked. She shook her head. "Anything planned for today?"

"I have work at one."

"Do you want to have lunch and I'll drop you off?"

"How am I going to get home?" Gabriella asked, putting the book back under her pillow.

"I'll pick you up." Troy offered.

Gabi stretched out her back and sat up. "You don't have to spend all your time with me just because I'm pregnant."

Troy shrugged. "I want to. You can pick where we go to lunch."

She looked at him suspiciously. "I'm not sleeping with you again."

Troy laughed. "All I want is to have lunch. Is that so hard to believe?"

"Almost as hard as that falling asleep story." Gabi replied dryly.

"I'm offended."

"You should be. I have to take a shower. We can leave when I get dressed."

"I'll go change." Troy murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead "I'll be right back." Gabriella nodded, smiling softly. He left the door open while Gabriella gathered her clothes.

* * *

Gabriella burst out laughing at Troy's joke. They were at dinner after she got off work. As promised he had taken her and picked her up. She wondered why he was acting this way. He was acting different but did she really expect him not to after what she told him this morning? She wasn't sure. She wasn't too sure about anything going on in her life right now.

The thought had a negative effect on her bright mood. She wiped her mouth with napkin and looked down at her empty plate. They were waiting for the check before they were heading back to the house. The mood of the lunch they had earlier was light and playful. It was like any other day. They didn't have the future lurking over them as they felt this morning.

She felt the dark mood creep up on her again. Troy sensed the mood change and offered her his hand to hold. She reluctantly reached over, placing her hand in his. She always knew Troy would be there for her. They were always going to be friends. They were going to be great parents to the little baby inside of her.

Troy handed over his card, paying for the dinner just as he did for lunch. Once he got the receipt, they stood together walking out of the restaurant. They got in Troy's car and he drove them back home. The past twenty minutes have been silent he pulled up behind Gabi's car in front of the house.

They didn't make a move to get out, they just buckled their seatbelts. "I think we need to have a serious talk."

"It's going to be one of many, I'm sure." Gabriella replied, resting her head against the seat. She turned her body to face his.

He nodded silently. "I'm going to be apart of it's life, so we're going to have to compromise about a lot of things."

"Right." She agreed.

"Since I'm playing basketball for Berkeley, I won't be going anywhere for a while." Troy shared. "If I can still get an offer after I finish my masters then I'll accept and go into the NBA. It won't be until it's at least two."

"What if you get a once in a lifetime offer, sooner?"

Troy sighed, he hadn't thought about that exactly. 'I'd probably take it."

"I wouldn't let you do anything else." Gabi said with a small smile. "Troy, you won't have to worry about me. I'll have Taylor, Chad and the rest of our friends would be more than glad to help out with me. I support you in everything you want to do Troy. I always have."

He gave her a small grin. "I'll always worry about you, especially now Gabsy. You're carrying our little…fetus in there." Gabi couldn't help but giggle. "I'll support you just like you support me. You promise not to hate me when our kid is born and waking up every hour."

"Only if you promise not to hate me when I get ridiculously annoying as this pregnancy progresses."

"Deal." He said, holding out his pinky.

She wrapped her pinky around his and placed a light kiss on his lips. She shifted, leaning against his shoulder. "This isn't going to be easy."

"Nothing meaningful ever is." Troy kissed the top of her head. "Come on baby mama, let's get you to bed."

"Okay." Gabriella stifled a yawn. She didn't realize how tired she actually was. She kept waking up last night waiting for Troy and got up really early. She was looking forward to a long, long sleep. She slid out of his car and walked up to the door. Troy closely followed, locking his car with a high pitched beep.

Troy opened the door as she yawned again. "You're pregnant?!" Chad said, his eyes wide.

Gabi looked alarmed, partially from the fact that she almost shit her pants. Everyone knew she scared easily. They looked around the room Chad was standing by the door as if he was waiting for them. Taylor was sitting on the couch next to Sharpay and Zeke. She had her sorry eyes on. Gabi wondered if she shared who the father was.

"Yes, she's pregnant." Troy said, speaking up for me.

"Gabs! How could you do this? All of those dreams you have, you're going to put off for a baby?"

Troy frowned. "Don't talk to her like that! She's going to make all of her dreams come true. She'll be fine."

"Why are you sticking up for her? She was the most ambitious of all of us. She should have been more careful."

"It takes two to make a baby Chad. Just shut up before she kicks your ass- before I kick your ass."

Gabriella took a seat in between Sharpay and Taylor. She wasn't as hurt as everybody thought she would be. Everything he was saying was true but after the conversation she had with Troy in the car, it was going to be okay. That's all she can afford to think right now. She cuddled against Sharpay and watched the boys argue.

"I'm just trying to look our for my little sister. I'm going to find whoever did this to you and I'm going to kill him." Chad said, his curls bouncing.

"Chad."

"I'm going to cut his balls off and put them in a blender."

"Chad!"

"Then I'm going to rip his legs off."

"CHAD!"

"WHAT?"

"I'm the father!"

She didn't hear a gasp from the couch so she assumed Taylor told Sharpay and Shar told Zeke. They watched as Chad's face turned a little pale. Taylor was trying so hard not to laugh next to her. The silence felt like an eternity.

"What?" Chad choked out.

"I knocked Gabi up."

"What?" He managed again.

"It was after the reunion…." Troy trailed off, looking at Gabi with a small smile on his face. "We already talked about it, everything is going to be just fine."

"Fine? You think everything is going to be fine?"

"Yes. For now everything is going to be fine." Troy assured. "We're going to take it day by day. In seven months we're going to have another little wildcat."

"Jesus Christ." Chad muttered. "I'm going to bed." He walked towards his room and shut the door behind him.

"I'll go make sure he's okay." Taylor said, releasing some of the giggles she was holding back. "Goodnight, guys."

"Night." They all replied back.

Troy took her seat while Gabriella rested her legs on his lap. "So, you're going to be parents." Zeke said.

"Yep." They both said at the same time.

"We'll support you one hundred percent. And so will Ryan and Kelsi. Chad just needs a moment to come around."

"He'll be fine." Troy said. "Once it get's closer to the due date he'll be buying it a whole bunch of stuff."

"Do you think it's going to be a boy or a girl?"

"Hard to tell… I'm not going to find out though."

"Why not?" Sharpay asked frowning. "I'm going to buy pink whether it's a boy or a girl."

Gabi laughed. "I already planned on it Shar."

"Little tutu's for Troy junior." Shar teased.

Troy shook his head. "It's going to be a spoiled, spoiled child."

"Right?" Gabi said, laughing. "I have to do all the hard work."

"I doubt eating ice cream and having me cater to your every whim is hard work."

"Don't even get me started Troy Bolton." Gabi said, pinching the back of his arm. She yawned, closing her eyes. "Are you guys staying?"

"Yeah."

"You can have my room, I'll just cuddle with Bolton tonight."

"Are you going to do it again?"

"No." Gabi said at the same time Troy said, "Yes."

Sharpay made a face as Gabi pushed herself up. "I'll go get my room ready." She walked inside her room, grabbing her book and her pillow and put it in Troy's room. She cleared her sheets off her bed and put a set of clean ones on. She changed into night shirt before walking out. "It's all yours."

"Thanks Gab. Can I borrow something?"

"You do anyway." Gabi said with a slight giggle. "I'm going to lay down." She announced, walking into Troy's room. It was still clean from yesterday when she cleaned it. She washed her face and took her contacts out. She put her glasses on before she changed the bedding on his bed. She climbed in and opened her book.

Troy moved about his room getting ready for bed. He watched her for a moment, reading her book. She was beautiful, even more so now carrying his child. She was glowing in fact, he had never seen anybody more beautiful than she. She stripped down to his boxers and stretched his back a little before he climbed in bed next to her.

* * *

**Hello internet friends. I've decided that this story is going to remain T. ONLY BECAUSE i have a new sexual story i'm working on. lol. It's very sexual. Y'all are gonna have to wait for it though. SORRY. I still love you guys. I'm giving you all virtual hugs right now. Don't forget to review.**


	4. October 12

**October 12, 2012**

School started again for everybody. Gabriella was determined to get the best grades this semester so she could take the spring semester off. She was almost out of her first trimester. Everybody knew, her parents, his parents, practically everybody back in Albuquerque. They were all excited, and very confused about the situation these young people were in.

Gabriella had to tell her boss. Her professor was extremely sad she'd be gone for a semester but said there would be a job waiting for her when she came back. Troy had told his basketball coach who was very upset but applauded him for stepping up when most young men wouldn't.

Troy liked to think he was most excited for his child. It was starting to consume his every thought. Instead of going out like he normally would he would stay in and research baby furniture with Gabriella. They spent a large amount of time checking reviews and safety warnings. He only wanted the best for his baby.

"Gab, Gabsy?" Troy called as he walked in the house from practice.

"She's in her room." Taylor said, from the couch.

He grinned. "Thanks Tay." He walked across the room to Gabriella's. He knocked on the door.

"Come in." Gabriella's sweet voice said from the other side.

Troy opened the door and he saw Gabi sitting on the bed with her school work spread out. His eyes flicked over to the man that was sitting at her desk. His eager smile faded away. "Hey." He said slowly, not really knowing what else to say.

"Hey Troy." Gabi said, looking up at him with a smile. Her glasses on her face, which has been happening a lot these days as she kept forgetting to put her contacts in. "What's up?"

Troy's eyes flicked over to the man who turned back to his work. Troy shook his head. "Nothing, never mind. I didn't know you had company."

"It's okay." Gabi said softly. "This is just my friend, Brandon."

"Hi." Troy said shortly. "I'll talk to you later." He let out a defeated sigh. He closed the door behind him and walked over to his room. He sighed again. Why did he feel jealous? He had no reason to be jealous. He needed to work off some steam. Troy didn't know where the burst of energy came from but he needed to do something.

He pulled on his running shoes and left his room. "Where are you going?" Taylor asked, watching him walk toward the door.

"Running. I'll be back in an hour."

"Okay." Taylor said with a shrug. He stepped out the door and took off running.

Gabriella's frown didn't leave her face since Troy left the room. He seemed to be in such a good mood. She hoped she wasn't the reason for the sudden change. She looked down at her notes. She completely forgot what place she was at. It didn't help that her legs fell asleep and her back hurt.

"So who was that?" Brandon asked.

"That was my friend Troy." She said, finding her place.

"You're just friends?" Brandon asked, curiously.

'Yep, since we were kids. We all have been. Me, Troy, Taylor, Sharpay, Zeke, Chad, Ryan and Kelsi." She explained, licking her bottom lip. "We moved out here together. Well except for Ry and Kels, they got accepted into Julliard."

"Wow." Brandon sounded surprised. "So are you doing anything for dinner tonight?"

Gabriella sat up, moving her legs. "Um, I'll probably cook dinner."

"Do you want to have dinner with me?"

Gabriella made a face, thankfully her back was to him. "I don't know…" She said slowly.

Brandon cleared his throat. "It can be like date…Or not like a date." He said after her silent response.

"I don't know Brandon. I'm not really in the best place for dating right now." She shared honestly.

"I thought you didn't have a boyfriend."

"I don't, I'm just- I'm not dating right now. I'm sorry." Gabriella said with a small frown.

"Hey, don't worry. I'm sorry for being awkward." Brandon said, turning around. "Are you finished with Professor Lopez's homework?"

Gabriella nodded her head. "Yeah, I finished my homework when I was at the library. I'm just catching up pre reading."

Brandon frowned. "You pre-read?"

"Yeah, I'm at least three weeks ahead. I read the chapters in between…" Gabriella blushed.

He frowned. "You're making me feel inferior."

"I'm sorry." Gabriella said quickly.

"Don't. I have to head out, I'll see you Monday." Brandon said as he started packing his stuff.

Gabriella attempted to stand up but just fell back onto the bed. "I would walk you out but my legs are asleep."

Brandon laughed. "Don't worry about it Gabriella. I'll talk to you later." He threw his backpack over his shoulder.

She got the feeling back in her legs and stood up. She walked over to the refrigerator. "Do we have anything to eat?" She asked, looking through the fridge.

"I thought you were making dinner tonight." Taylor said, peeling her eyes from the television.

"I am but this baby makes me eat like a teenage boy with munchies." Gabriella mumbled, putting a carrot stick in her mouth. "Where's our chips?"

"Troy threw them away, he replaced them with celery remember?"

"Fucking Troy." She grumbled. "You know what? I'm going to buy some chips and stash them in my room. He'll never find them there."

"You're pure evil Gabriella Montez." Taylor said, making them both giggle.

Gabriella walked back into her room and slipped her shoes on. Her purse was on her shoulder and keys in her hand. "Oh and FYI, my home cooked meal might be KFC because I'm dying for some spicy chicken."

Taylor laughed, waving her off. "Won't bother me any."

"I'll be back." She said, pushing her hair back. She walked to her car and drove down to the grocery store. She picked up a couple of things she was craving and four bags of potato chips. She set them all in her trunk and started down the street towards KFC. She took a double take at the man running down the street.

She drove a little further before she pulled over, rolling down her passenger window. "We're you looking for me?" Troy asked breathlessly as he walked up.

"No, I just went to the grocery store." Gabriella said, unlocking the door. "Get in, I'm getting chicken."

"Chicken?"

"For dinner. I want chicken." She said, yawning. He shrugged his shoulders, getting into the car. "When did you leave? I didn't even know you were gone."

"I just needed a jog. What did you get from the store?" Troy asked, changing the subject quickly.

Gabriella merged back onto the road. "Just some stuff. Pickles, olives, stuff for spaghetti…"

"Pickles? You hate pickles."

"I know but they just sound so good. I have terrible cravings Troy. I told Taylor I felt like a teenage boy with the munchies."

Troy chuckled. "Our baby is going to be addicted to salt and caffeine if I hadn't stepped in."

"There's nothing wrong with potato chips." Gabriella defended.

"You're pregnant, Gabsy, what you eat the baby eats." Troy said.

"I'm carrying this baby for nine months. I have to push it out of my vagina. If I want to eat chips then I'm going to eat chips Troy. If my three year old wants to eat hotdogs every meal for a week then I'll probably let it."

"Oh dear god. Our kid is going to be picky."

"No it's not! What does being picky have to do with anything?"

"Because you'll spoil it and it won't try anything new so it's going to be picky."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Oh shut up, Troy." She pulled into the KFC drive through and leaned back against the seat as they waited to order. "Our baby is going to be perfect… like me." Troy snorted and she swatted his arm, offended. "Rude."

"Sorry babe." He said with a small smirk. "It sure is going to be pretty."

"You know what I was thinking about?" Gabriella piped up suddenly.

"What?" Troy asked, chuckling quietly at her outburst.

Gabriella licked her lip, moving forward a bit. "What if our baby is a ginger?"

Troy burst out laughing. "What?"

"A ginger! Your mom's a ginger! It could be hereditary." Gabriella defended. "You could have been a ginger Troy."

Troy couldn't stop laughing, even as they pulled up to order. Gabriella ordered what she wanted and what he assumed was for Taylor and Chad. He ordered once his laughter died down. She pulled up to the first window, paying for the food. She waited behind the car in front of them for the actual food.

"Our kid is not going to be a ginger, Gabriella. It'll most likely have your hair, your eyes, and tan skin." Troy said, blinking his blue eyes.

She frowned. "I hope not. I want it to be different."

"You want it to come out black?" Troy asked. Gabriella burst out laughing. "I think people would be even more confused if that happened."

"No not like that. I just,- I don't know. I want it to look like you I guess. It'd be so cute."

"Because I'm so cute." Troy said with a smirk.

She pushed his head, shaking hers. "You're annoying, that's what you are."

"I am not annoying. People love being around me."

Gabriella snorted, pulling up to the second window. She reached over for the food, thanking the man who handed it over. She looked through the first bag before handing it over to Troy. She took the second, making sure everything was in there.

The person behind her honked their car horn. "I'm moving! Shut the fuck up! Fucking assholes." She stuck her middle finger out the window as she drove out of the parking lot.

"Gabi!" Troy said, wide eyed. He chuckled. "Did you just flip them off?"

"Yeah I did! They're being rude."

"I never noticed your road rage."

Gabriella sighed, shaking her head. "I do not have road rage." She said calmly.

Troy chuckled some more, shifting the bags on his lap. He decided not to press the subject. He didn't want her annoyed with him. "I've been thinking of names."

"Really now?" She asked, surprised.

"Yes. It would be a whole lot easier if we knew if it was a girl or a boy."

"Troy, you can't name a person if it hasn't been born yet." Gabriella stated. "You can think about names you like, but you shouldn't keep a set name."

"Why not?" Troy asked, frowning.

"Okay, say you found out it was a boy. You buy everything blue and red and green. You pick the name Fred. When you birth it, surprise, it's a girl. Then what? That poor little girl will be stuck with boy clothes and onsies that will say mommies little man. It has a vagina and we would not call it Frieda."

"That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"

"I'm being realistic Troy! Or the other way around! You pick the name Kayla, you're not going to call it Kaylo if it's a boy."

"Gabriella." Troy said, shaking his head.

"Don't even get me started on it being a hermaphrodite." Troy looked at her with an obtuse expression. "It's a one in a million possibility."

"You've been reading too much into this Gabriella."

"No, Troy. I'm going to be prepared. If our kid has any deformities or conditions, I want to be prepared." She shared softly, pulling into their driveway.

Troy suddenly realized why she was acting the way she was. She was scared. More like terrified if you would ask her. She was scared of a lot of things, possibly more than the normal person. She couldn't help it though. It was her personality. Even though she had a carefree, fun loving side, she would always have a heavy mind.

He decided not to say anything. He just picked up the food and got out the car. He didn't know what to do to ease her mind. He shut her car door and walked inside. "Food's here." He called out. He set it in the kitchen. "I'm going to take a shower, I'll be right out."

Taylor nodded, walking over to the food. She took it out of the bags and she saw Gabriella walk in with groceries. She set it on the counter. "I got chips!" Gabi said, grinning devilishly. She was like a child who has something she was she couldn't have. Gabriella rushed to her room with four bags of potato chips in hand.

"Four, really?" Taylor asked, calling after her.

"They were on sale!" Gabriella defended, closing herself in her room.

"That girl." Taylor muttered to herself. She felt two arms snake around her waist and a kiss on her neck. "Are you ready to eat baby?" She asked Chad.

"Definitely.' He murmured into her neck.

She giggled, pushing him away. "You guys are gross." Gabriella said. "You're going to make me puke. At least you guys have real love. I get to cuddle with my baby bump."

"And Troy." Chad pointed out.

"And my baby daddy." Gabriella concluded. "Until he gets something new… Where's the spicy chicken?" Gabriella said, her mouth watering.

Troy walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. He couldn't be upset that that's all she thought of him. She knew him better than that. He has been actively dating for a while now. He decided to shake it off. He got dressed and walked out of his room.

"We made a plate for you." Gabriella said, patting the seat next to hers. "I almost ate your plate too. This kid is definitely yours."

Troy chuckled, sitting next to her. "Don't blame our kid on your eating habits."

"I don't usually eat this much! I would eat one piece of chicken, some mashed potatoes and whatever. This plate was full when I started." She suddenly winced, feeling the heartburn bubble in her chest. Maybe spicy chicken wasn't the best idea. "Tums." She mumbled, pushing her chair back.

"I'm never getting pregnant if I have to act like her."

"Yeah, she's only a couple months." Chad murmured.

"I can hear you, Assholes."

Troy chuckled. "She flipped off some person in the KFC drive through."

"Gabriella!"

"What?!" She yelled from the bathroom.

The table just laughed. "We love you so much." Taylor consoled.

"Yeah. You must love me a lot." She said sarcastically. Gabriella came back a minute later with a sad expression on her face. She sighed, taking a seat.

"What's wrong?" Chad asked hesitantly.

"I gained fifteen pounds in the last two months."

"Mostly in your boobs." Troy pointed out. Gabriella shot him a glare. "What? They're nice to look at."

She shut her eyes, the tears pricking her eyes. "I'm going to get fat." She suddenly burst our in tears.

"You're not going to get fat." Taylor said.

"Yeah, I won't let you. You can come work out with me at the gym." Troy said, kissing her cheek.

She sniffed, wiping her years. "We can walk." She reasoned. "Oh! We can do prenatal yoga!"

Troy made a face. "I don't know about that.."

"Come on, it'll be fun. Oh! We can sign up for Lamaze class, and CPR and first aid…. I need to get my card renewed. Oh and we all need to get our Pertussis vaccine before the baby comes." Gabriella rambled.

"Calm down, preggers. We have like eight months to go."

"More like six Chad." Gabriella said, giggling at Chad's facial expression. He looked confused yet terrified.

"Pertussis. Is that the commercial with the coughing babies?" Troy asked.

"Yes. My child is not getting whooping cough from any of you." She said. She leaned against Troy, closing her eyes. She frowned to herself slightly. She felt lonely all of a sudden. She was around people all the time but there was void that she felt she needed to feel. She hated being dependent on anything. That's why most of her relationships didn't work out very well. She always seemed to find the clingy ones and the jealous ones. She never seem to find the right one for her.

"What's up Gabs?" Chad asked.

She looked up, breaking out of her thought. "What, what?"

Chad laughed a little bit. "What were you thinking about? You looked upset."

Gabriella shrugged. "I just have the random urge to make out with somebody."

Troy tensed up next to her and Chad smirked. "Troy's right there, I'm sure he won't mind doing you service."

She frowned, sighing. "But I don't want it to have to be a service. I want someone who wants to kiss me, you know." She attempted to shrug it off, pushing herself off of Troy. "Pregnancy hormones, making me crazy horny."

Troy shifted uncomfortably, watching her walk into her room. He swallowed thickly before he noticed Chad staring at him. "Dude!"

"What?" Troy asked, confused.

"Go help her out!"

"Chad!" Taylor smacked him. "Butt out of it. Gabs will be in whole different mood before he even stepped into her room."

"She has a point." Troy said. "This is weird. I'm going to bed."

"You're life is going to be weird." Chad said as Troy got up.

Troy didn't really know how to feel at the moment., so he decided to shake it off. He walked into his room, stripping his clothes off. He walked out in his boxers to go brush his teeth. Gabi opened the door when he was about to knock.

"Oops, sorry." She said.

Troy has to keep from biting his lip. She was wearing very short, sort of see through nightie. Her swollen breasts looked even bigger, her curves accentuated. He licked his lips, clearing his throat. "Don't worry about it."

She gave him a sweet smile, unknowing of the effect she had on him. Troy slipped passed her closing the door behind him. He had to get a grip. It was bad enough he knocked her up. If he kept lusting after her through out her whole pregnancy and even after, he wasn't sure what would happen with their relationship. He brushed his teeth and knocked on Gabi's door.

After getting the okay to open the door, Troy took a step in her room. "What's up?" Gabi asked. Her long, tan legs distracted him for moment.

"Just coming to say goodnight."

"Alright." She said with a bright smile. "My mom said she bought the crib we liked. We can pick it up tomorrow"

"What? She didn't have to do that." Troy said, taking a seat on her bed.

"I know! She just called me and told me." She said, yawning. "You're going to have a blast putting it together."

"No problem. It will be my first daddy duty." He wore a proud smile.

"We should probably keep it in your room, there's more room." She thought aloud. "Unless you wanna bring girls over, then that's kind of a mood killer."

Troy chuckled, shaking his head. "No more girls over. I'm going to be a father. I have to start acting responsible." She looked at him skeptically. "Let's face it, when this baby comes nobody in this house is going to get any with a crying baby in the background."

Gabi laughed, shaking her head. "I guess the only good thing about it is that we don't have to buy it."

"True." He leaned over and kissed the material over her stomach. "Goodnight baby. Love you Gabsy." He pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead.

"Love you too. Goodnight Bolton." She said, smiling.

He pushed himself up and walked to her open door. He was about to close the door when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. "Are those potato chips?" He asked, pointing to the bags across the room.

"Goodnight Troy." Gabi said with a small giggle.

* * *

**So i was thinking about giving you guys... or well some of you a sneak peak to one of my new stories i'm working on. i'm still thinking of the little contest. i might just pick some non-guest reviewers and send a couple paragraphs to them to see what they think. Would you guys like that? let me know. Don't forget to review.**


	5. October 31

**October 31, 2012**

As everybody else was out at their Halloween celebration, Troy and Gabriella were trying to put the baby's crib together. Even Gabi, who was only three months pregnant, wanted to get as much done as early as possible. Troy wanted her to take it easy, especially since she's working and going to school full time.

He was sitting on the floor, trying to read the instructions. Gabriella was sitting on the bed, looking at the box. She looked at all the pieces skeptically, it was like a real life jigsaw puzzle. The end result was going to be a crib for the baby that she was carrying.

"Maybe we should have hired somebody to do this." She partially joked after hearing him sigh for about the hundredth time.

"I got it Gabi." He brushed her off, turning the page.

"Let me see the instructions. Let me read them to you. If you put it together wrong, you're taking it apart because our baby won't sleep in anything less than perfection." She said, taking the paper from him. She studied it for a minute.

As she began to read the directions aloud, Troy slowly pieced together the crib. Gabriella watched as the crib finally became a crib. They set the base board down before putting on the packaged mattress. They pushed it up against the wall and sighed.

"It looks good." Troy said, dusting himself off.

"Can you imagine our baby in it?" Gabriella asked him, taking a step closer. She could. She saw a cute little baby with his blue eyes laying calmly in the crib. She couldn't wait to hold her baby in her arms. She had so much ambition and she couldn't wait to watch her baby's dream come true.

"I imagine it a girl." He said softly. He wrapped her arm around her waist. "My eyes, mom's hair."

Gabriella laughed softly. "The darkest person with auburn hair."

"She's going to be beautiful though." He said, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Now what?"

"We have plenty to do for the baby." Gabi said, rubbing the back of his head. "But we still have a couple months… I have something we can put in the crib." She pulled away from him, walking into her own room. She had went on a little exploration a week ago while Troy had a basketball camp. She bought a couple of gender neutral things for the baby. "Look how sweet this is.." She pulled out a soft giraffe from the bag.

Troy grinned, reaching over for it. He cut the tag off immediately and wound it up. "It plays music too." He said softly as the sound twinkled from the stuffed animal. He placed it in the crib and they took a seat on the bed, listening to the calming music.

"I wonder what it's going to be like when it's older." She wondered, aloud. "Like when it's four or five, is it going to have a lisp?"

Troy grinned. "I wonder if it will like basketball or football."

"I'm surprised you won't force it into basketball." She said, turning to look at him.

"Nah, I want him or her to find whatever it likes. If it likes hockey or baseball, or if it doesn't even like sports I'll support whatever it wants to do." He shared softly.

"What if it's gay?"

Troy shrugged, indifferently. "Then it's gay. I'll beat up whoever picks on it."

Gabriella smiled at this. "What if it's born a girl but wants to be a boy when it's older?"

Troy chuckled. He could see she was getting a kick out of this. "Then I'd have a son. I'd love it all the same."

They were quiet for a few seconds. She leaned over and kissed the corner of his mouth. "You're going to be a great father Troy."

"I hope so." He turned slightly, her face still close to his. His eyes trailed down to her lips. He watched her rub her lips together nervously. He wondered what she was thinking about. A slow smile graced her lips and his eyes met hers.

Gabriella watched him blatantly stare at her face. She thought he was cute. He was really going to make a great father. Their kid would be lucky, she figured, to have a great male role model in it's life. She felt the urge to just push him down and undress him. She wanted to wrap her body around him and let him take her, claim her, just like he did three months ago.

She felt his breath on her lips, letting her eyes close. She felt the lightest touch of his lip on hers. She pursed her lips out as he pulled back slowly, teasing her. She found the strength to cup the back of his neck pulling his lips back to kiss her fully. He placed his hands on her waist, feeling himself slip away. Her soft lips parted, capturing his lower lip.

Troy pressed his chest against hers just as she was starting to lay back. Her tongue teased his lower lip almost driving him insane. He pulled back for a quick moment, making sure he wasn't squishing her or the baby. She pulled him down for another firm kiss, letting his tongue pass through her lips.

Gabriella felt a vibration against her back. She didn't know how long they have been making out. She was so distracted she hadn't felt the phone press against her lower back. "Mmm," She hummed, trying to pull away from his lips. "The phone." She got out before Troy took her lips again.

"Ignore it." He mumbled, barely making words.

"Troy, wha-" He was cut off by his kiss, feeling another round of vibrations in her back. "What if it's important?" She finally asked.

He didn't respond, his lips just trailed down her neck. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head. Being pregnant made her skin extra sensitive. Her body temperature was always high and in a situation like this, she was already soaked though with just a couple of kisses. She reached behind her back, pressing her body against him inadvertently.

"I'm drunk." Taylor sang when Gabriella answered the phone.

She couldn't help but giggle, Troy nibbling on her neck didn't help either. "Wh- Do you need a r-ride?" Gabriella could barely focus with his lips on the most sensitive spot on her neck.

"Chad... I don't know where he is." Taylor mumbled. "He was with Zeee-" She cut off instantly. "Found him!" She piped up. "Chad!"

He heard them talking in the background but she didn't focus on what they were saying. Troy's hand was slipping down the side of her body, onto her bare thigh. "Hey girl!" Sharpay's voice made her jump.

"Hey Shar." Gabriella said.

"You're breathing kind of heavily. Are you working out or something?" She asked.

"Or something." Gabriella smirked. "Do I need to pick you guys up?"

"Nah, I haven't drank anything. I was going to be DD anyway. We figured you and Bolton would be sleeping by the time we were ready to go anyway. Is it cool if we sleep in your room? Did you finish it?"

"Yeah and yeah the crib is good." She said, all too aware of the hand that was making it's way up her leg. "You guys be safe okay?"

"Alright girl."

"Call me if you need a ride."

"Alright, love you."

"Love you too." She said, rushed. She hung up the phone tossing it to the side. She grabbed his hair pulling his face back up to hers.

"They okay?" He asked in between kisses.

She nodded her head, wrapping her legs around his waist. "Hold on." She said, pulling away.

"No." He murmured, pulling her back.

"I'll be right back." She promised. He sighed before he let her go. Gabriella rolled off the bed and walked out of his room. She took her contacts out, she forgot why she put them in in the first place. She took her bra off before she grabbed her book, phone charger and her pillow.

Troy groaned when he saw the pregnancy pillow she carried in. "Not that thing again."

"I have to carry your child. I can have a pillow to make me comfortable." She defended. She purposefully put it on his side of the bed before she brushed her teeth.

Troy cursed the pillow, grumbling to himself as he cleaned up the mess they made with the crib. He pulled his shirt off, throwing it in his hamper. He walked out to get a drink of water. He tried not to think too much about what was going to happen or not happen. He kept the door unlocked. They would be way too drunk to find their keys.

He walked back into his room. Gabriella was already tucked under the covers with her pillow. Troy closed the door. "Lock it." He heard Gabi say softly. He did as he was told without any questions. He turned off the lights. He kicked off the shorts he was wearing and crawled into bed as well.

Troy laid on his stomach, turning his head to the side to look at her. Her head was placed on her pillow, her body wrapped round the bottom of it. She just watched him lay there. His cheek pressed into the pillow making his mouth open in a perfect circle. A slow smile formed on her face. She just knew that's how their baby was going to sleep. She hoped it was going to have all his mannerisms and confidence.

"I've always been infatuated with the name Jillian." He said slowly. "For a girl."

"It's pretty. Jillian Grace." She added.

"We could call her Gracie."

"Jillian Grace Bolton when she gets into trouble."

"Not Montez?"

She crinkled her nose. "I don't like hyphenated names. You're her father, she's going to have your name." Gabriella moved her pillow to the back side of her, placing his arms around the man next to her.

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "We're going to have a hell of a story to tell at the ten year reunion."

"And a four year old." She smoothed her hands down his muscular back slowly. Her fingertips brushing over every ripple in his skin. The skin of her stomach touched his due to her tank riding up. Her lips pressed softly against his Adams apple.

He let out a low groan. He tucked his chin to his chest, brushing his nose against hers. Troy dipped down for a slow kiss. Her lips parted slightly against his. His hands found her waist, creeping up the warm soft skin under her shirt. Their tongues met for quick battle for dominance. Gabriella moves her hands from his back to press against his chest.

She pushed him down, pulling their lips apart. She expertly swung her leg over his body to sit on his lap. Their eyes connected as she stretched her back, pulling her tank over her head. She sat bare-chested on his lap. He took the opportunity to study her changing body. He had memorized every inch of her and the change was slight, but noticeable for him.

It was mostly her breasts, fuller, rounder. Her nipples were puckered, at attention. Her stomach wasn't completely flat, it never was but she didn't have a bump yet. Her hips were wider it seemed. He never tore his eyes away from her ass when he got a good look at it. She was completely sexy. Her body, perfect, in his mind.

He sat up, his tongue working his was in the valley between her breasts. She whimpered at the feeling of his tongue against her skin. Goosebumps covered her arms that encircled his neck, keeping his mouth against her chest. He started with the right, giving it the love and attention he thought it deserved. Gabriella was in an internal debate- she was more than ready but she loved the foreplay. She loved the attention he was giving to her changing body. She felt beautiful, sexy even.

She let out a short breath as he released her left nipple. He pushed her butt up so her back was straight. He pressed soft kisses to her belly before pulling down the short shorts she had on. Gabriella sat back so he could pull her shorts and panties off her legs. She moved back into her straddling position. He kissed her lips slowly, rolling her over so he was on top.

* * *

Sharpay shook her head as she opened the door for Chad. Taylor was passed out in his arms. He carried her towards there room and Zeke wrapped his arms around her waist. "I can't wait to marry you." Zeke murmured in her hair.

"I can't wai-" There was a sharp squeal that sounded. She turned to her fiance furrowing her eyebrows.

"Wha-"

Sharpay put her finger on his lips. There was soft rhythmic thumping coming from Troy's room she could only guess. She closed the door softly before pressed her ear up against Troy's door. Her eyes widened when she heard what could only be a moan.

"What-" Zeke covered Chad's mouth and pointed to the door.

"They're fucking in there."

"Who?" Chad asked, confused. He was sobering but he was still drunk.

"Troy and Gabriella, you idiot. Listen." Sharpay whispered.

Chad pressed his ear up against the door. "This is weird." He said, listening to them. He moved his head away from the door.

"We could knock." Zeke said, lifting his hand up.

"No! No cock blocking. Let them have sex and we can fuck with them tomorrow." Sharpay said. "Chad go to bed before Taylor throws up all over it."

"Shit." Chad whispered, making his way down the hall.

"We should be doing that." Zeke said, motioning over to Troy's door, planting kisses on her neck.

"We promised not to have sex in Gabi's bed remember?" She said, rubbing his head. "When we get home." She said with a naughty smile. She lead Zeke into Gabi's room and they went to bed.

* * *

The next morning Sharpay got up early, making everybody some coffee. Troy was the second to wake up. He headed straight for the shower. She smirked, she couldn't wait to tease them. Sharpay started on breakfast. Living with a cooking student, she picked up a couple of things. She learned she loved breakfast and Zeke taught her how to make perfectly cooked eggs.

Troy emerged from his room again, closing the door behind him. "Hey Super Sperm, Did you finish the crib?" Sharpay asked with a smirk.

"I told you not to call me that." He said, looking in the fridge for some juice. "It's finished though. We just need bedding and other stuff." Sharpay nodded, cracking a couple more eggs. "How was the party?"

"It was good. I was DD, but watching Taylor get drunk is always a good time. Reminded me of the eighth grade when me, her, and Gabi stole a bottle of vodka from my parents liquor cabinet. She threw up in one of Ryans rain boots."

Troy laughed. "Wasn't that when Brie had 'food poisoning' and she didn't go to school for like a week."

"Poor Gabi. That was a terrible week for her." Sharpay whisked the eggs together. "How was your night last night?"

"It was good." He said, pulling out a container of juice. He set it on the counter, grabbing two glasses. He poured juice in each of them before putting the container back.

"I never really got the chance to ask you, Troy. How are you dealing with the baby?" Sharpay asked, curiously, putting the skillet on the stove. She turned her attention to him.

He licked his lips. "We're just taking it one day at a time. I know it's going to be harder on Brie than it is on me. I'm going to take care of her and the baby."

"Good." She said with a smile. "You've come a long way Bolton. You changed a lot in the past month."

"I have to grow up." He said with a casual shrug. "I'm going to be a father. I'm going to be a good one too. I don't think I could live with myself if I was anything less." Troy said, taking a sip of his juice.

Sharpay smiled at her friend. "Are you still going to date?"

Troy shook his head. "No Not right now at least. Brie needs me and I want to be there for her since I did… you know."

"Knock her up." Sharpay said, laughing a little.

"I wanted to say that without sounding so crude. Impregnate?" He offered, just making them both laugh.

"I get it. I'm proud of you." She said, putting some butter in the pan, watching it melt slowly. "I'm so happy for you guys, you know? Even if it wasn't planned, you are both going to be great parents. Gabs especially. She just has that natural maternal instinct."

"Yeah." Troy said quietly. "She does."

Sharpay looked up to see a tired looking Gabi, walk out of the door. She was wearing a long shirt. "There she is, How'd you sleep fertile myrtle?"

"Can you not call me that?" Gabi asked, wiping her eyes. "Why are you so chipper in the morning? It's irritating."

"You used to be chipper too, until you got pregnant and stopped drinking coffee." Sharpay said with a smile. "Do you want eggs?"

"Yes, I'm starving." Gabi said, picking up a glass of juice. "Is this mine?"

"Yes." Troy said chuckling, watching her drink it regardless.

"How was the party?" Gabi asked, leaning against the counter.

"It was fun." She said. "Taylor got super drunk and passed out in the car. Zeke and Chad were moderately hammered."

"Sucks being the sober one all the time, doesn't it?" Gabi said, watching her cook.

"Yes, I'm giving you props for all the drunk people you're going to have to take care of in the next six months."

Gabi groaned. "If I see puke, I will puke" She felt a bit queasy. "I feel sick just talking about puke."

"Whoa, hormones, calm down." Sharpay said. "We can talk about something else."

"Okay, like what?" Gabriella asked. Sharpay thought as she plated Gabi's eggs. She slid the plate over to her. "Can you get me some hot sauce?"

Sharpay nodded, grabbing the hot sauce. "We can talk about how you two had sex last night." Sharpay offered. She handed it over to a suddenly pink Gabriella. "You were knockin' her up real good, huh Bolton?"

Troy laughed awkwardly. "Uh, what?"

"Oh stop it. I heard the thumping and the moaning. I know what sex sounds like, I have a lot of it." She said with a shrug. "So what? Are you getting together or something?"

Gabriella poured hot sauce over her food, stuffing it in her mouth so she wouldn't have to answer her questions. "I don't know what your talking about." Gabi said with her mouth full.

"Deny all you want you horn dogs, I know the truth. I heard it, so did Zeke and Chad but I think they're going to be too drunk to remember." Sharpay said making more eggs. "It's okay to have sex. It's healthy, you know. My suggestion is to get your feelings settled before this baby comes or else you're going to be apart and unhappy and dating other people."

Troy and Gabriella just looked at each other. "Hey baby, something smells good." Zeke said, walking out of Gabriella's room. "Mmm, that's my girl." Zeke kissed the top of Sharpay's head, wrapping his arms around her as she cooked.

"You guys are so cute. I just want to throw up all over you." Gabriella said standing up. "I gotta pee."

Troy chuckled, watching her walk away. Sharpay was right. He had to get his feelings settled before the baby was born. The problem was he wasn't a hundred percent sure how he exactly. He loved her but he didn't know what he was so afraid of. Things were too complicated to even think about starting a relationship with anybody.

He felt uneasy as Gabi walked back to over, giving him a small smile. He forced one back to her but took drink of his juice to hide whatever emotion was taking over him. He felt guilty. Guilty for putting them in this predicament, for sleeping with her the night before. He just hoped she wasn't too stressed about the things that he was worrying about. She had enough on her plate already.

* * *

**Happy October! One of my favorite months. I just re enrolled in school and i start on the 21st. Still looking for a job/babysitting on the side. Growing up is weird. Don't do it. haven't decided on the sneak peak chapter for my new story. Maybe i'll send it out sometime next week. Leave me a review letting me know if you want it. Still writing this story too. I've just been all over the place as usual. lol. Don't forget to review!**


	6. November 22

**November 21, 2012**

It was the night before Thanksgiving when Gabriella and Troy flew into Albuquerque International. Troy had been acting a little stand-offish since they slept together on Halloween. It was unnerving to Gabriella but she had bigger things to worry about, like getting all her work done before the semester ended. She was going to be out of school and her Graduation date was going to be pushed back because of the baby.

She was going to be 19 weeks on Saturday. She was almost half way through her pregnancy and she was barely showing. Troy and her friends were getting a little curious about why. The doctor said it was normal. The baby was probably going to be small. That didn't surprise her because she was a small baby herself.

Gabriella knew she was going to learn way more about Bolton than she ever planned to know during this trip home. Jack and Mark had already made sure that their families were having Thanksgiving dinner together. Maria and Troy's fathers and them would be hitting up Babies-R-Us for black Friday shopping. She was planning to use the pregnancy card to get out of it before they went completely bat-shit-baby crazy.

She felt herself getting pulled over to the baggage claim. She was exhausted from working and being pregnant. Collecting her bags and driving home felt like such a hard task for her changing body. She just wanted to curl up with a bag of salt and vinegar chips and cry herself to sleep.

Gabriella tried not to breathe as she passed through the rush of people that were on her plane. They smelled like various strong perfumes and recycled fart air. Her face was in an airsick bag for half the flight, dry-heaving. "I should have brought a gas mask." She mumbled out loud for the first time. She thought it the whole flight.

"It's just the hormones." Troy reminded her blandly.

She only sighed, gripping his hand. "Who is picking us up?"

"Nobody. My dad left the truck. You're the one who booked the flight for nine at night." Troy said shortly.

"Well sorry for being cautious with my money since we have to save up for a fucking baby." Gabriella snapped at him, pulling her hand out of his.

"Just come on." Troy said after he sighed.

Gabriella stood with her arms across her chest. "I wish our parents didn't plan this stupid together Thanksgiving bullshit. I'm so tired of you."

"Thanks Gab. You've been a real gem yourself." Troy mumbled sarcastically, pulling their luggage from the turn-style.

She scoffed at him. "Please, I'm not the one who decided to change all of the sudden."

"What are you even talking about?" He asked, looking at her.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." She said, poking his chest.

"What? After we slept together? We do it all the time. We were horny, I was doing a service." He said, pulling the second suitcase from the cold metal machine.

"A service?" She said, laughing sarcastically. "Fuck you, Bolton." She took a few steps away from him.

"Aren't you going to help me?"

"Oh baby, I'm not going to help you with anything anymore. I'm not going to offer my services to you." She sneered sarcastically. "You can carry that and do a lot of things yourself from now on." She turned again, walking out the doors, leaving Troy to the suitcases.

Troy sighed, squeezing his eyes shut. He hated hurting her but it was what was best for the both of them. She'll get over it in the morning and they'll be back to normal. They were best friends and they fought about stupid things all the time. By the morning, everything would be just fine. He ran his hand down his face before carrying the bags out the door.

He found the truck and Gabi standing next to it impatiently. "Could you hurry up? I'm about to piss my pants."

"Sorry." He mumbled, throwing the bags into the back. He unlocked the truck and they both got in. Once they were buckled up he turned the key to start the truck. The truck wouldn't start so he turned it again.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." She said, smacking her forehead gently. "Seriously?"

"It's not my fault." Troy defended, trying to turn it on again, using his usual tricks when his truck acted up.

"Please get it to run. I'm going back inside because my bladder is about to explode." Gabi slid out the truck and raced back towards the building.

Troy tried the truck one more time before he hit his head against the steering wheel. "Come on!" He groaned, smacking the steering wheel. He hopped out and checked everything under the hood. Everything seemed fine. He tried the truck one more time and it didn't even make noise.

He pulled out his phone and called AAA. They said they'd get there as soon as possible. He saw Gabi walk back and get into the car. "Please tell me you got it to turn on." She said, climbing into the truck.

Troy shook his head sadly. "No, I called roadside service. They're on their way."

Gabriella groaned, leaning her head against Troy. "We have the worst luck ever."

"Don't I know it." He murmured dejectedly.

* * *

**November 22, 2012**

Gabriella watched her phone clock hit midnight. The tow company wasn't here and it had been over an hour. She was tired and uncomfortable. She already went pee twice. She just wanted to be in her own bed back in California. Maybe coming home for Thanksgiving was a bad idea. Troy and her were barely even talking and when they did it just turned into an argument. She couldn't blame him for the truck breaking down but, boy, did she want to.

Gabriella drifted in and out of sleep while Troy let her sleep on him, staring at the rear view. He saw lights flash and he shifted her so she laid on the seat. He slid out of the truck and watched as the tow truck pulled up. Troy watched as a bulky man slide out of the truck and yawn.

"Sorry for being late. We have had a crazy amount calls from highway patrol and they always come first." The man explained. He took off his cap and scratched his head. "How'd y'all get stuck here?"

"My friend and I just flew in from California for the holidays. My trucks always been a little iffy. My dad left it." Troy explained. "We got to get home. It's late, it's getting cold and she's pregnant and grumpy."

The man chuckled. "Say no more. I'll get y'all out of here and back home in no time. You're going to have to get her up in my truck though so I can hook it up."

Troy sighed. "I'll try."

"Hang in there brother." The man said. "Let me just back in here then you can get your girl." Troy stood out of the way as he watched the driver back himself up towards the truck. He hooked everything up.

Troy walked over to the cab of the truck. "Gabsy. Wake up." He murmured dropping a kiss to the side of her head.

"What?" She grumbled tiredly.

"You have to get out. We're getting the truck towed." Troy said, moving her hair back carefully.

She groaned as she sat up. "My back is killing me." She slid out of the truck with her purse. Troy shut the door behind her and locked the truck up. He helped her into the tow truck cab and watched him pull the truck onto the bigger one. The driver secured the truck safely and Troy pulled himself into the tow truck.

"I've never been in a tow truck before." He told Gabriella who was less than amused. She looked exhausted. The driver climbed into the cab and started the truck. Gabriella felt a little uncomfortable next to a man she didn't know.

"I'm going to lay on you and you're going to shut up." She murmured, placing her head on his shoulder.

The driver chuckled. "Typical. My wife hated me when she was pregnant too. We have three kids so she don't hate me that much. How much longer?"

"Five months." She said with an annoyed sigh. "I'm almost half way done."

"It'll go by quick. Next thing you know, you're going to be going into labor and you'll have a baby to take care of." The drive spoke as he drove. "But the good stuff will outweigh the bad. I mean, the first time you hold your baby. Man, nothin' beats that. Nothin'. Not all the money in the world."

Gabriella smiled as the man talked. "I can't wait for that." She said softly.

Troy grinned, stroking her hair slowly. He nodded in agreement, resting his head on hers. He gave directions to the driver to get back to their parents houses. When he pulled up in the court, Troy reached over for his wallet. "This is just a little thanks for not keeping us out there all night."

"You're welcome. Take care of the girl and the baby." He said, shifting his ball cap. "You want me to just leave the truck here?"

"If you could, please. I'll have to figure out what's wrong when I want to get away from my family." Troy partially joked. "Thank you again, man."

"You're welcome." The driver repeated with a smile. He slid out the truck and started his work.

"Gabsy, we're here babe." Troy said, shaking her gently. "Wake up."

"I'm up." She said, clearing her throat. "I'm up." She covered her mouth, stifling a yawn. "Can you carry me?" Gabriella asked with a sleepy smile.

How could he say no to that? He wondered. "Sure thing. You have to get out first babe." He told her, sliding out the truck himself. He helped her out and took their things up to the Montez house. He checked the door and it was unlocked. He put the bags just inside the door before he walked back for Gabriella.

Gabriella was tiredly giggling about something the driver was saying when Troy walked up. "You have a good night Chris."

"You too, Gabriella. Take care of that little one, okay?"

"Will do." She said, looking at Troy when he stood beside her.

"Goodnight, thank you for all the help." Troy said, waving him off. "Ready?"

"Yes." She said with a sigh. He scooped her up and she held her arms around his neck tightly. Troy took her back to the house, closing the door behind him. He carried her up the stairs and to her childhood room. He placed her on her bed softly, pulling off her shoes and tucking her in.

He took a seat on her bed as she just looked up at him tiredly. "I'm sorry."

"I know." She said softly, fighting her drooping eyelids. "I am too. We have more impor-" She was cut off with a yawn. "Things to worry about." She finished, shaking her head. "Come on, cuddle me." She murmured, opening her blankets to him.

"Back where it all started." He said, kicking off his shoes and laying with her.

"Shut up." She said with irritation evident in her voice. "Don't ruin this and go to sleep."

Troy chuckled, kissing her forehead. "Goodnight."

* * *

Gabriella rolled onto her back, letting her hand fling over. She smacked Troy's face accidentally. He didn't even stir. She ran her fingers through her hair before she pushed herself up. The sudden urge to pee motivated her quick escape to the restroom. After she was finished she made her way down stairs.

"You're up!" Her mother rushed over to her, wrapping her in a hug. "Let me look at you!" She pulled away and studied her daughter. "You're barely even showing. Lucky you! How are you feeling? Are you hungry?"

"Mom, relax." Gabriella croaked tiredly. "I can barely even walk, I don't know how you expect me to have complete sentence answers to your questions."

Her mother just brushed her off. "What time did you get in last? I tried to wait up but I fell asleep."

"Troy's truck wouldn't start and we had to wait for a tow truck driver." She explained. "I fell asleep too, multiple times."

"Why didn't you call me? I could have picked you up."

"We didn't want to bother you. It was fine. We didn't get in too late anyway. Troy's sleeping up stairs, by the way." Gabriella informed. "Can we go to IHOP?"

Gabriella's Mother laughed. "Cravings are just the worst."

"I like everything I don't like normally." Gabriella said, resting a hand on her stomach. "I inhale potato chips. Troy makes me eat healthy but I have a stash in my room."

"He's just being protective."

"More like annoying if you ask me." She said. "But seriously, IHOP?"

"Honey we have to cook all day for dinner next door. I have to make a turkey. Do you know how long it takes to make a turkey?" Her mother asked.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll go wake Troy up. He'll take me."

"Take you where?" Troy asked as he walked down the stairs.

"Troy! Look at you. You can't get more handsome." Maria rushed over to him, giving him a kiss on each cheek.

"Good morning, Ms. Montez, Gabsy, baby." He rubbed her bump lightly. She smacked his hand away. "Where am I supposed to take you?"

"IHOP. I'm starving." Gabriella looked at him with puppy dog eyes.

He sighed, looking away. They knew he would give in. "Okay, fine."

"You're too easy on her." Ms. Montez said with a knowing smile.

"How can I resist her beautiful face?" Troy asked, squishing her cheeks together to make Gabriella look like a fish. "Did you get the pictures of the crib we sent you? It's all set up."

Ms. Montez smiled. "It looks so good, you guys have great taste. It's in your room right?"

"Until I get a chance to move stuff around for the baby. I'll have the bassinette in my room." Gabriella explained, licking her dry lips. "I'm going to go take a shower, then IHOP!" She grinned excitedly rushing up the stairs.

Her mother and Troy chuckled as they watched her rush up. Ms. Montez smiled at the young boy in front of her. "I'm glad that you're the father, Troy. I know I can trust you to take care of her and the baby. You don't find that in many young men these days."

"I would never let her do it alone. I love Gabi. It's not going to be easy but we'll work it out."

"I have faith in you both." Ms. Montez kissed the boys cheek once again. "You can use my shower if you need to. I have to start cooking."

"Thank you." He said, walking toward his and Gabriella's luggage. He picked them up and brought them up stairs. He knocked before entering her room. He saw her standing in front of a mirror without a shirt on. "What are you doing?" He asked wearily.

"Look." She said softly, waving him over.

"Look at what?" He asked slowly.

She turned to the side, looking at herself in the mirror. "You can see it." She said softly. Troy stood behind her and she found one of his hands placing it against her more noticeable baby bump. His fingers sprawled against her warm skin, running along her accentuated bump.

"You can feel it." He murmured, amazed. "Can you feel anything?"

"Not yet." She breathed out. "The book said it can happen between 18 to 22 weeks. So it'll probably be soon."

Troy grinned, placing a lingering kiss on her cheek. She shifted her body to get a better look at his face. She looked at his lips. He poked his tongue out, licking his bottom lip as he watched her look at him. His hand still caressed her belly protectively. He instinctively brushed his lips against hers.

She pulled away with a small gasp. "What?" Troy asked worriedly.

She looked down at her belly and frowned. "I swore I felt it move and it just stopped."

"She likes when you're close to her daddy. Huh, baby?" He said softly, towards her bump. "Kiss me again. Maybe she likes when we kiss."

"Oh stop." Gabriella rolled her eyes.

"What? It doesn't hurt to try."

"Fine." She muttered, annoyed. She kissed him fully on the lips, feeling more light movements in her belly. "That's not funny baby." She said, frowning at her belly.

Troy grinned. "Told you she likes when her daddy is around."

"It's not a girl!" Gabriella grumbled.

Troy got to his knees and kissed her bump. "I love you too little baby. Sorry for calling you a girl if you're a boy. We still have five more months to wait."

"I need to get in the shower." Gabi stated with her arms crossed over her chest. "I still want Denny's."

"I thought you wanted IHOP?" Troy said, rising to his feet.

"Whatever!" Gabriella snapped. Troy chuckled, watching her disappear into the hallway. Troy took a quick shower and got dressed. He texted his friends to ask if they wanted to do breakfast. They agreed and Troy waited patiently for Gabriella to be done.

He waited outside, where he met up with Chad and Taylor. They stood in front of the broken down truck in the court. Troy sighed. "What's on your mind?" Chad asked.

"Gabi felt the baby move this morning."

"Really?! You could you feel it too?" Taylor asked, excitedly.

Troy shook his head. "Nah, it's too early. I don't know how to not love her." He looked at his friends. They were happily together. They were just as close and he and Gabriella were. "Why can't we be like you guys?"

Taylor and Chad let out a surprised breath. They looked at each other before they looked back at Troy. "You're making it so hard, Troy." Chad said with a shrug.

"How am I making it hard? I'm supposed to make it easier. I tried to stay away but I miss her. I try to get close but I can't help but feel guilty that I'm holding her down. I literally can't win." Troy grumbled frustrated.

Taylor swallowed before turning to him. "You're making decisions for Gabriella without even knowing it. You know if she realized this is what you're doing, you're going you get your ass beaten by a pregnant woman." Chad chuckled, nodding in agreement. "You have to let her figure out what she wants with you for herself. You have to ask her what she wants, let her make the decision."

"Don't be dumb, you have to talk about it." Chad added. "Just sit her down and let her tell you how she feels."

"If she doesn't want to be with you, you have to get over it Troy. You have to move on and if she wants to be with you then great." Taylor said, glancing back at the Montez house. "If she makes you wait. You wait. Don't fuck it up or you're going to be the reason this whole group doesn't talk to each other and you'll never see your baby."

"Harsh Tay." Chad said frowning.

She shrugged. "I'm just saying."

Troy hit his head against the window of the truck. He groaned. He felt this whole talk didn't help him any. "Okay, I'm ready." Gabriella said breathlessly, walking out the door. "I need me some Pancakes."

"I need a drink." Troy said, putting a smile on his face. "Pancakes, let's go."

"Yes, lets." Taylor said with an amused smirk.

Just an hour later they were seated at the local IHOP, eating their food, talking about the upcoming hours. Sharpay and Ryan were having their usual holidays at Lava Springs with the staff. Troy and Gabriella's families were combining their celebration as were Chad and Taylor's family. Zeke couldn't make it because he was cooking a feast for his family and Kelsi was serving the local homeless shelter, giving out free meals to the less fortunate.

They were all amused to see Gabriella devour her three plates of all you can eat pancakes. She was a very happy pregnant lady when she was finished. "I need a nap." She declared, putting her napkin on her plate.

"Another round?" The waitress asked.

"No." The table replied for Gabriella. She was leaned against Troy's shoulder, switching over to Chad's.

"We'll take the check." Taylor said.

"Here you go, y'all have a nice day." She said, putting the receipt on the table.

"You too." Gabi replied, with a small wave.

* * *

**Sorry for taking so long. I've been sick then baby sitting then getting ready for school then being sick again. It never stops. SO yeah, i'm going back to school tomorrow. I don't know what to think about it right now. I'll probably rant on about how much it sucks next time I update. Hope y'all are well. Don't forget to review!**


	7. December 16

**December 15, 2012**

Gabriella couldn't believe how big she got in just three weeks. She was twenty two weeks pregnant and feeling very energetic. She felt like she could conquer the world but she had a baby bump in the way. She was officially on winter break from school. She had taken her finals and wouldn't be back until next fall after the baby was born.

She stared at herself in the mirror. She still couldn't believe she was pregnant. She looked like she had a small ball under her shirt. Her bump was perfectly round and everybody cooed over it. And she meant everybody. Strangers came and started chatting her up about her baby in the randomest places. She was slowly getting used to it. She learned she enjoyed when people touched her belly. She loved feeling her baby move around in there.

When they came back from Albuquerque she had her routine twenty week check up. She and Troy went together. He literally begged Gabriella to find out what the gender was but she didn't budge. She still wanted it to be a surprise. She ran her fingers over outie belly button and sighed. She suddenly wanted to take a bath.

"Hey Gabsy." Troy knocked at the open door.

"Hey." She said turning to him. She pulled down her maternity tank and took a seat on the bed. "You just get home?"

"Yeah, we're leaving tomorrow to play in North Carolina." Troy said, taking a seat next to her. "I wanted to talk to you about a few things."

"Okay." She said, grabbing her pregnancy pillow, wrapping it around her.

"I've been thinking for a couple weeks about us and I want to know what you thought." Troy said slowly, looking at her.

"What about us?" She asked, rubbing her lips together. She felt a little uncomfortable talking about them other than as the parents of their baby.

Troy sighed. He noted she was rubbing her lips. He tried to hide his frown. "Like, do you want to try to be together? As in a couple… in a relationship." He reiterated to make sure she understood.

"I hadn't really thought about it. I just think of us as the parents of a baby not a couple." She said slowly. "Do you want to try?"

"I mean, if you want to then we can try." He said, looking at her. "But if you don't then we don't have to. You know, if it will be uncomfortable or weird."

"It would be a little weird." She said softly. "Honestly, I don't want us to get hurt. I think it will be best if we just try to be parents. We can focus on the baby because it's going to occupy most of our time when its born."

Troy fought back a frown and forced a smile. "Yeah, I totally get it. I- just- you're absolutely right." Troy said getting up. "It would be kinda weird so…" He trailed off. "I'm going to go pack."

"Okay." She said with a small smile. "I'm thinking about getting in the bath." She got up as well, following him out into the living room.

"Hey girl." Taylor said, watching Troy walk straight into the room, closing the door behind him.

"Hey." Gabi said with a wide smile. "How was work?"

"Boring." Taylor said, rolling her eyes. "How was your day?"

"Long." She said with a sigh. Taylor followed her into the bathroom, shutting the door. Gabriella started the bath and took a seat on the covered toilet. "I started off craving coffee. I can have a cup a day but I wanted like a big one. Like the big size from starbucks, the one bigger than the Venti size." Taylor giggled as she rolled her eyes. "I was going to make a sandwich for lunch but we didn't have any pickles… my sandwich was mediocre. Then I went to the store to buy some more and every other person talked to me about my baby and grabbed my belly. I didn't really mind that but whatever. Then I come home and looked at my belly and Troy comes in saying he wants to talk."

"What did Troy want to talk about?" Taylor piped up, suddenly interested.

"He was asking if I ever thought about me and him being in a relationship."

"Really?" Taylor said, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah, weird right? I didn't know what to say. I told him we'd just be better off focusing on the baby. We have so much on our plates right now. I don't know how we're going to have time for a relationship, you know? Plus, how weird would it be?" Gabriella said with a small snort.

"It wouldn't be that weird." Taylor said with a small frown. Gabriella was leaning over, pouring bubble bath in the water.

Gabriella shrugged in response. "It was all so sudden, so weird. He's going to North Carolina tomorrow. Hopefully nothing happens when he's gone." She stood up. "I'm going to get in. Check on me in a half hour, make sure I didn't fall asleep."

Taylor laughed. "Okay. Have a nice bath."

"I will." She said with a wide grin. Taylor walked out and she stripped down and sunk into the filling bathtub. She turned off the water when it got full enough. She leaned her head back, relaxing.

Taylor was still frowning when she walked back to her room. Chad just got home and was laying down on their bed face down. "Hey." Taylor said sitting next to him.

"Hey baby."

"You might want to talk to Troy." She said slowly.

"How come?" Chad asked, looking over at her.

"I just talked to Gabi and she told me that Troy talked to her about being in a relationship." Chad's face lit up. "It didn't go so well."

Chad instantly frowned. "No?"

Taylor shook her head. "She thought it would be better if they were just parents to their baby."

Chad sighed. "He must be hurting, bad." Chad said, scratching the back of his head. "I'll go check on him." He leaned down giving a kiss to Taylor. He walked out the door and knocked on Troy's door, peaking his head in. "Hey brother."

Troy looked up from the duffel bag he was packing. "Hey." He murmured, stuffing a shirt in the bag.

"Why so glum?" Chad asked, jumping on Troy's bed, laying across it.

Troy shrugged. "Not really feeling this away game."

"You'll be back in like two days. Not like you'll be gone for two weeks." Chad pointed out.

"You're lucky. Your season is almost over." Troy grumbled unhappily.

Chad chuckled. "I'll go to North Carolina for you. Shit. Can we switch teams?"

Troy cracked a smile. "I think it would be a little noticeable."

"Oh well." Chad said, shrugging. "What else is going on?"

Troy licked his lips. "I talked to Gabi."

"Yeah, about what?" He asked, looking over at his best friend.

"About what we talked about at Thanksgiving. She doesn't want to be in a relationship." Troy said with a sigh.

"I'm sorry man." Chad said with a frown.

"Don't be. I should have seen it coming." He stopped packing for a moment. "I'm going to take this weekend and clear my head for the away game. When I come back I'm going to do as you said and move on."

Chad sighed. "I was rooting for you man."

"Thanks anyway." Troy said with a defeated sigh. "Only eighteen more years." Troy attempted to joke.

"It's a long time. You never know what the future will bring." Chad said climbing off of Troy's bed. "Need me to take you anywhere?"

"Sure. I was going to ask Gabriella but that might be weird now. We have to meet at the airport tomorrow morning at like seven." Troy said. "Oakland."

Chad patted his friends back. "No problem brother."

Troy watched Chad walk out. He finished his packing and pulled on his running shoes. He needed to get some fresh air. He grabbed his phone and his wallet and he walked out of his bedroom. He noticed Gabriella in the living room but didn't pay much attention. He grabbed his Ipod on the counter and watched her for a minute while he put the buds in his ears.

He watched her breathe out slowly, bending over to touch her toes. He made a face while he watched her. She sat back on her heels now, bending her knees in a slight squatting position. He just had to ask. "What the hell are you doing?"

Gabriella jumped, looking over at Troy. "Jesus, Troy."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. You look like you're about to shit on the hard wood." He said, his face still turned up with confusion.

Gabi rolled her eyes. "I'm doing pre-natal yoga. It'll help for when I go into labor. The positions help bring the baby down or something. I don't know. It's just supposed to help so I thought I'd try."

Troy looked at her skeptically. "Right. Well, I'm going to go for a run. I have my cell if you need me."

"Oh, I should go take a walk. They said that helps. Maybe when you get back and you feel like taking a walk, you can come with me?" Gabriella asked.

Troy shrugged. "We'll see."

"Have a nice run." She said. She frowned when he didn't say anything in return and just walked out the door. She breathed out and moved into another position, clearing her mind once again.

* * *

**December 16, 2012**

Troy had woken up extra early to make sure he was showered and dressed so he didn't have to rush. Him and his team were flying across the country to play the University of North Carolina. He wasn't sure how the game was going to turn out. He just wanted this season to be over already but they were on a winning streak.

He made sure he woke up Chad and that he was actually awake and walking around. Chad was not a morning person but he was very dependable. Troy double checked he had everything. He said a quick goodbye to Taylor who was half asleep still since she was on vacation.

Troy was fighting himself on if he should wake Gabi up or not. She would probably be upset with him if he didn't. He opened her door and watched her sleep for a moment. He cleared his throat before kneeling beside her bed and pushing her hair away from her face. She was tangled up with her pregnancy pillow.

"Gabsy." He said softly, trying to coax her awake. "Gabi, babe."

"Hm?" She asked, opening one eye before rolling onto her back. She groaned and rolled back to her side.

"I'm about to leave, I just wanted to tell you." He said softly.

She frowned. "Don't go."

"Trust me, I wish I didn't have to." Troy said softly, stroking her cheek. "If anything happens don't hesitate to call me, okay?"

"Mhm."

"Gabriella, I'm serious." Troy said firmly.

She opened her eyes. "Okay, I'll call you. I promise."

"Thank you." Troy said. He pushed her blankets back a little bit so he could see her slightly exposed tummy. He leaned down, pressing a kiss to it. "Daddy has to go play basketball. I'll be back as soon as I can. Be good for mommy, okay?" He stroked her belly slowly before giving it another kiss. He covered her up again.

"You're cute." Gabriella said with a sleepy smile on her face.

Troy laughed. "I try." He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Gabriella thought he was going for her lips. She ended up kissing his throat, awkwardly. "I'll see you in a couple days. Don't forget to take your vitamins." He reminded.

"I won't" She replied, still pouting.

"I love you." He said as he walked out the door.

"Love you too." She called back just before the door closed and she wiggled to get comfortable again.

Troy grabbed his bag and found Chad in the kitchen. "Ready?" Chad asked him. Troy nodded his head in reply. They went out to Troy's car. Troy sat in the passengers seat, looking out the window. He was quiet as Chad started the car, making his way to the main road. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just worried about Gabi."

"Her and the baby will be fine. Taylor will probably be with her all day, Sharpay will probably be around too." Chad said, stifling a yawn. "You have nothing to worry about."

Troy nodded. "I know but I still do."

"I guess it just comes when you learn you're going to be a parent." Chad said. "Constant worrying."

"Yep, pretty much. If it's not the baby then it's Gabi, if it's not either of those it's money and if it's not that it's the future. It gets overwhelming." Troy swallowed.

"You can talk to me. I probably won't know what it's like for a couple of years but I'm a good listener." Chad said, smirking at his best friend.

"I know I can talk to you and everybody. I feel like once the baby is born we're going to be a burden on you guys. We're still young and you're a couple and it's hard to be romantic with a screaming baby in the background."

Chad laughed. "Tay and I already talked about it. We figure it's like built in birth control. A reminder to buy extra condoms."

"And to take her pill because condoms aren't completely effective. That's how Gabi got pregnant." Troy said. Chad looked at him bewildered. "I never do it without condoms. Even since Gabi is pregnant, we still used condoms."

"Jesus." Chad said shaking his head.

"Yeah." Troy said with a bitter laugh. He leaned his head against the window. "You should have heard the talk I had with my mom."

"Was it bad?"

"Oh yeah. It consisted of 'you're ruining her life' and 'you should have thought about that while you were sleeping with her." Troy said with a sigh.

Chad smirked. "She's not an excited grandma to be?'

Troy snorted. "Did you think she would be?"

Chad laughed. "No, not really. How'd your dads take it?"

"They were having a ball." He explained. "My mom did join in of the shopping though. She has to put her two cents in about everything."

"I'm sure she's just bummed out that Jack is gay and she wanted to have more kids, probably. Once the baby is born she'll probably move down here to help take care of it."

Troy shuddered. "God, I hope not."

The rest of the ride was quiet, while they sat with their thoughts. Chad pulled into the airport, stopping in front of the correct terminal. "Have a safe flight. Call one of us when you get there and kick some ass."

Troy laughed. "I'll try." He gave Chad a quick hug. "Make sure Gabi is okay. If something's wrong, call me."

"I will, get out of my car."

"This is my car." Troy reminded him.

"Whatever. You've got a plane to catch." Chad said, laughing.

"Love you brother."

'Love you brother." Chad said just before Troy closed the door. He checked his duffel bag in and met up with the rest of his teammates.

The fellow Golden Bears greeted Troy with a hand shake. They were very fond of Troy. Since he got there he had taken on a leadership role. He was responsible and worked twice as hard. It'd been installed in his brain since his father had been his coach since he could shoot a basket. Jack never pushed his too hard. He always just pushed in the right direction.

"Hey Bolton." Mason Kennedy, one of his teammates took a seat next to him. "Are you ready for the game?"

Troy nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm ready to win." He gave his teammate a half hearted smile.

"Mase!" A girl bounced over. "Give me five dollars."

Troy chuckled as Mason sighed, giving the girl five dollars. "Girlfriend?"

"Sister." Mason said with a shrug. "Big sister actually. She's two years older."

"Does she go to Berkeley?" Troy asked.

"She's in her final year. Studying psychology." Mason said. "She's coming with us to North Carolina. She's weird." Troy looked over at his phone. "How's the girl?"

"Big." He said with a small smile.

"The baby?"

"Still cooking. She still won't let me find out." Troy said with a laugh. Troy pulled out his wallet and showed Mason the recent ultrasound picture. "Twenty-two weeks."

"Aw cute baby. It's yours?" They looked over to see Masons sister sitting behind them, leaning over the chair.

Troy nodded his head. "Yeah."

"He's the one that knocked up his friend."

The girl o'ed her mouth. "Right. You were telling me about that. Is it awkward?"

Troy laughed. "Sometimes but Gabi and I have been friends forever so it's not weird at the same time."

"Interesting."

"What'd you do with my five dollars Julie?" Mason asked, looking back at his sister.

Julie shrugged her shoulders. "Don't worry about it."

Troy chuckled. "I wish I had a sister."

"No, you don't." Mason grumbled.

"Shut up." Julie said, pulling a bag of chips out of nowhere. "Don't listen to him. He doesn't know what he's talking about."

"You should get me some chips."

"Get your own." Julie said, smacking his hand away when he reached for hers.

Mason sighed. "I'll be right back."

"So." Julie said, hopping over the seat with her snacks. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Nah." Troy said shaking his head.

"I heard you went out with that girl Haley and fell asleep on her when she wanted to hook up." Julie said with a smirk. Troy frowned a little "I'm not judging you. I think it's hysterical."

Troy cracked a smile. "She was pretty pissed off."

Julie laughed. "That's great. Do you want to like get lunch or something when we get there? I know Me and Mase will be hungry. You can come with us."

"Sure." Troy said, nodding. "Sounds good."

"So what are you having? Boy or girl?" Julie asked, popping a chip into her mouth.

"Don't know. Gabi wants it to be a surprise."

"Any names yet?" She asked.

"God, Julie you're so nosy." Mason said, taking a seat on the other side of his sister.

"I'm just asking. Damn."

"We agreed on a name for a girl but we haven't talked about boys names yet." He said, sitting back.

"What's the name?"

"Jillian Grace Bolton." Troy said. "It's subject to change. Gabi changes her mind every minute."

"You can name her Julie." She said with a wide grin. "Or Mason."

"She's annoying, I'm sorry."

Troy chuckled. "It's fine. I was expecting this trip to be boring."

"Good thing you're sitting with us." Julie wrapping her arm around Mason and Troy's neck. "We're like the wolfpack."

"Oh god." Mason said, pushing her away.

All Troy could do was laugh. Their flight was called and they stood up, getting into line. "Where are you guys sitting?"

"Row 16 or something." Mason said. He pulled out his ticket. "Eighteen B"

"Eighteen C" Julie said, reading her ticket.

Troy snorted as he looked down at his ticket. "Eighteen A"

"It was meant to be!" Julie said, putting her arms around them again.

"Why did I agree to take you?" Mason asked, rolling his eyes.

"Because I'm your big sister and you love me."

"That's debatable." Mason said, earning a punch in the arm. "You are so lucky you're an only child."

"My best friends are kind of like my siblings. We act the same way." Troy said with a chuckle. "Well some more than others. Taylor, Sharpay, and Kelsi are like sisters to me. Chad, Zeke, and Ryan are like brothers."

"And you knocked up the other." Mason said smirking. He handed the attendant the ticket and walked in the tube. Troy and Julie followed. "I don't have any close girl friends like that so I can't even imagine."

Troy just shrugged. "Our relationship is complicated."

"Want the window?" Mason offered.

Troy shook his head. "I like aisle."

"Julie?" Julie denied. Mason took the window seat and Julie stuffed their carry-ons in the over head. Troy put his bag under his seat and took his seat, bucking his seatbelt.

"Let me do roll call." Troy's coach bellowed throughout the plane as people were still coming on. "Just raise your hands. Anybody who is not on the plane is off the team so tweet about that. Andrade. Bolton…" Coach started roll and Troy raised his hand when his name was called. He shifted in his seat and closed his eyes once he felt the plane start moving.

* * *

**Just because I started school this weeks and i feel like i'm in over my head. I hope y'all are having a wonderful fall season. The weather is just right here in California. I pulled out all my hoodies because it's starting to get cold. I'm writing more. Don't know when the next one is going to be out. y'all know me, i'm full of surprises. I know i teased y'all with that contest thing a couple weeks back. I think im just going to put the first chapter up of the story. maybe since i have two stories up it'll give me motivation to write more. Love y'all don't forget to review!**


	8. December 20

**December 18, 2012**

Gabriella sat at home, alone and bored. Troy was in North Carolina. Taylor and Chad went to the city to see Zeke and Sharpay. Gabriella would have went except for the fact that she hasn't been feeling well. She felt like she was getting a cold. She wasn't sure how that was going to affect the baby so she decided to take it easy.

Times like this she sat on the couch and watched daytime TV. Nothing good was ever on in the daytime. She'd talk to the baby, using it's movements as responses. She wished Troy was here. He'd keep her entertained some way or another. She was drifting off to sleep when she had the weirdest dream.

She dreamt that she gave birth to a puppy. Troy wasn't there and she felt like she couldn't handle the puppy-baby on her own. She was scared, so much that she woke up sweating. She had the need to call Troy. She prayed he'd answer despite what he was doing.

"Troy's phone. Julie speaking."

Gabriella frowned. "Hi. Can I talk to Troy?"

"Let me just get him." The girl said. "Troy! It's… Well the phone says 'Gabsy.'"

"Hello?" Troy's voice sounded over the phone. "Gabi?"

"Troy?" Gabriella sniffed to keep her nose from running. She felt a rush of emotions come over her.

"What's wrong? You sound a little congested." Troy worried.

"I'm getting a cold." She said, sniffling. She wiped her tears. "I'm sorry were you busy?"

"I was just playing a game of One on one with Mason. His sister Julie came down here with him and I told her to hold my phone in case you called. Is everything all right Gabsy?" Troy asked.

Gabriella sat up, blowing her nose. "I'm home alone. I had a nap and I had a weird dream. It kind of freaked me out."

"Tell me about it." Troy said, giving her his full attention.

"I had the baby but the baby was a puppy." She said with a sigh. "You were gone. I don't know where you were. That freaked me out the most."

Troy frowned. "Hey, I'm not going anywhere. I'm here for you and the baby one hundred and one percent. I promise."

"I know. It's just hard sometimes." She let out a soft sob. "I don't even know why I'm crying. I just wish you were here."

"I'll be home soon, Gabsy. Hang in there okay?"

"I'm sorry." She said, hiccupping softly.

"Don't be. I'm here for you for all of this, okay? Why don't you get a small bowl of ice cream and pop in a movie alight?" Troy suggested. Gabriella sighed, blowing her nose again. "Call your OB, see if you can take something for your cold."

Gabi ran her fingers through her hair. "Okay. I miss you."

Troy chuckled. "I miss you too Gabsy. I love you."

"I love you too."

"Give the baby a kiss for me."

Gabi let out a giggle that made Troy smile. "I can't bend that way but I'll give it your love."

"Bye Gabsy." Troy said laughing.

"Bye" She said softly before hanging up.

"Baby mama drama?" Mason asked when Troy walked back to his friends. He handed Julie his phone and smacked the ball out of his teammates hand.

"She's just lonely." Troy said with a shrug. "Emotional…"

"I never getting pregnant." Julie said shuddering. "Just the thought of childbirth makes me gag."

"You don't want kids?" Troy asked, looking at the girl.

Julie shrugged. "I do I just don't want to do all that. I'll adopt. I'll have a baby from every country."

Mason snorted. "I'm glad I never have to get pregnant."

Troy rolled his eyes at the both of them. "Let's play basketball and not talk about pregnancy, okay?"

"Deal." Mason agreed, taking the ball back. He ran down the court shooting a lay-up.

* * *

**December 20, 2012**

Taylor, Sharpay, and Gabriella were at some designer dress shop looking for bridesmaid dresses for Sharpay's wedding. It was still a while until the actual wedding since they didn't even have a date set, so they were just browsing really. Taylor and Sharpay just wanted to get Gabriella out of the house. She'd been moping around since Troy left for North Carolina. He was coming home tonight and they wanted to keep her occupied.

They picked a couple of dresses they liked and were going to try on to see how they fit. Taylor's choices were up first. Taylor walked up in a peach chiffon dress that looked beautiful with her skin tone. Gabi gave her a small smile, nodding in approval. Sharpay didn't like it very much. Taylor turned and tried on the next.

Sharpay went second, modeling her personal choices. She stepped out in her final choice, a navy blue long dress. "This would be perfect for when you and Chad get married." Sharpay said, smirking.

Gabriella looked over at her friends confused. "What?"

Taylor scowled. "Chad and I aren't getting married soon. I was just discussing wedding colors and I said I liked Navy." She said simply. Taylor licked her lips and shook her head at Sharpay. "I would want short anyway."

"Ooh." Sharpay said, wiggling in the dress. "Okay, Gabi, you're up."

"Fantastic." Gabi said dryly. She pushed herself up and followed Sharpay into the dressing room. Sharpay got out of her dress and hung it up. "Stay outside, I might need you."

"Okie dokie." Sharpay said, closing the curtain.

Gabriella sighed, turning to her choice of dresses. She took out the first one of two. She didn't find anything in particular that caught her eye. She took off her maternity pants, folding them carefully. She took off her shirt before taking out the dress. She took a deep breath and tried to shimmy it on. She frowned when it wouldn't go past her hips.

"Sharpay." Gabriella called quietly, taking the dress off. She put it back on the hanger and stuck it out the curtain. "Can you give me the next size please?"

"Gabi…" Sharpay said softly, frowning.

"Please?" Gabriella definitely didn't want to talk about it. Sharpay sighed quietly, leaving to get the dresses. She came back and handed it in to her. Gabriella slipped the tight dress on. She walked out with an open back.

Sharpay had gone back to her seat and she walked over to her and Taylor. "Oh my! It looks so cute on you! Look at your baby bump!" Taylor cooed. "Turn around, let me see the back."

Gabriella sighed. "It won't zip up." She said softy.

"Did you try?" Sharpay asked standing up. "Maybe we can get the zipper up." Sharpay said, clipping the top of the zipper with ease. "Ready? Hold your breath." Sharpay tried to get it to zip but it didn't budge.

"I can't hold my breath. I'm pregnant." She grumbled. "Just take it off."

Sharpay unclipped it. "You'll be back to normal by the wedding."

"Oh I better be. If I'm this fat when you're getting married or if you're getting married, Taylor, I'm not going to be in either. I'll be in the back wearing sweatpants." Gabriella said as she shimmied off her dress before she even made it back to the dressing room. She put her normal clothes back on and walked out. "I want to go home."

Taylor and Sharpay frowned. "Come on, Gabriella. One more store." Sharpay pouted.

"You guys can go, but I'm going home. I don't want to be here." Gabriella said, frustrated tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm fat and I can't fit into dresses my size and I want to sleep." She said before she sobbed and walked out of the store.

"How many more months until we get normal Gabi back?" Sharpay asked with a frowned.

"This is normal Gabi to me." Taylor said with a sigh. "Eighteen weeks to be exact."

"Shit." Sharpay said, letting out a breath. "I guess we should go after her."

Taylor nodded. "We just need to get her some potato chips. That is my go-to peace offering."

"Good idea. Food, let's go." Sharpay said, linking arms with Taylor as they walked out of the dress store.

They found Gabi waiting by the car with red puffy eyes. She had her arms crossed over her chest. When Taylor unlocked the car, Gabriella sat in the back. "We're going to get some food. Any cravings?" Taylor asked softly.

Gabriella thought for a moment. "Can we get some hot wings?"

"Again?" Taylor said with a groan.

Sharpay slapped Taylor's arms. "Don't anger her." She hissed. "Of course, honey, we'll get you some hot wings." Sharpay glanced back and Gabi gave her a soft smile.

After they had a late lunch they went and saw a movie. Gabriella didn't see much of the movie because she peed every ten minutes for the first half and got sick the second. They finally gave up on their day out and took Gabriella back home. They all sat in her bed, cuddled against each other watching movies until Gabriella had fallen asleep between them.

Sharpay and Taylor got up, turning Gabi into a more comfortable position. They snuck out, turning off the TV, letting her nap for a little while. They sat down on the couch and let out a sigh each. "I do not know how Troy deals with her all the time." Sharpay said.

"She's not this bad when he's around, usually." Taylor said. "She's just having a rough time."

"I guess." Sharpay shook her head. "Thank god Troy's coming back in a couple hours."

"You're telling me." Taylor said, shaking her head as well. "Think back to high school. Who would have thought Gabi would be the first one of us to get pregnant?"

"I thought it would be me." Sharpay said. "Zeke and I did it everywhere…. We still do." She reasoned.

Taylor made a face. "Trust me, I know. I remember me and Gabi walking in on you sucking hi-"

Sharpay blushed. "We agreed we'd never bring that up."

Taylor tossed her head back laughing. "Wait until you hear our wedding toast."

"No!" Sharpay said mortified. "My dad's going to be there! My parents still think I'm a virgin."

"Now that's a long shot." Taylor teased. They giggled together, reminiscing on high school.

* * *

Troy got off the plane with Julie and Mason. They were inseparable the whole trip. He felt better about the Gabi situation and about basketball. He wasn't sure what was so different about this away game but it sure helped him a lot. He'd called Chad to let him know he didn't have to pick him up. Julie and Mason offered to give him a ride home since it was on the way.

They packed into the car and buckled up. "So what are you going to do when you get home?" Julie asked, turning around.

"I don't know? I have a feeling all of my friends are going to be there. You guys can come in and meet everybody if you want." Troy said with a shrug.

"I'm sure we can stop by before I have to take Julie home." Mason said as he drove.

"Cool." Troy nodded. "Are we still on for lunch tomorrow?" He asked quietly to Julie. She nodded with a smile. "I'll pick you up at one."

"Great." Julie said, turning around.

They chatted on the way to the house. Troy got out first when they got there. He lead them in, laughing quietly. "Troy!" He heard a familiar shriek from across the room. He was attacked by two arms that wrapped around him.

Troy chuckled. "Hello to you too."

"Thank god you're home." Gabi said, clinging onto him.

"I can see I was missed." Troy joked. "Gabsy, let go. I have to into introduce you to my friends."

Gabi smiled innocently, letting him go. "Sorry."

He chuckled, kissing her forehead. "Guys, this is Mason and Julie." Troy introduced. "This is Gabriella, Sharpay and Zeke on the couch. Chad and Taylor."

"Hello." Mason and Julie said.

Gabriella smiled. "Nice to meet you."

"Oh, look at you. You're just the cutest." Julie said, touching Gabi's belly. "Does it move a lot?"

"Yeah, kinda." Gabriella gave a forced smile. "So are you and Mason together?"

Julie made a face. "God no. He's my little brother."

"Right… I think Troy told me that. Pregnancy brain." She said, moving away from Troy and Julie. She took a seat next to Sharpay on the couch.

"I think we better head back Jules. It's nice to meet you all." Mason said, patting Troy's shoulder. "Later man."

"See you later. I'll see you tomorrow Julie." Troy said, seeing them out. He walked back in, putting his duffle bag in his room. He closed the door behind him, taking his shirt off, putting it in the hamper. He noticed Gabi's book on his bedside table and his freshly made bed. He swallowed thickly before his feelings got the best of him. The crib he had in his room was slowly getting filled with shopping bags of clothes, mostly from Sharpay.

He changed before he walked out to his friends again. "Hey brother, you never told me if you won or not." Chad said. He was sitting in an armchair with Taylor across his lap.

"Yeah, we did. 62 to 40." Troy said with shrug. "How was everybody else's week?"

"Terrible." Gabi mumbled.

"Long" Taylor said, with a small smirk.

"Mine was great." Sharpay said, grinning. She felt up Gabi's bump, feeling for any sign of movement.

"I'm not Buddha. You can stop rubbing me now." Gabriella snapped.

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Calm down mama bear. I'm just giving the baby some love before Zekey and I head back home."

Gabriella mumbled.. "Sorry."

"Don't worry mama bear. I still love you." Sharpay squeezed her friend. "I'll see you later."

"Love you too." She said, hugging Sharpay. She got up with Sharpay and gave Zeke a hug. "Bye Zeke."

"Bye Gabs, bye baby." Zeke said patting her tummy awkwardly.

As Sharpay left Gabi went in Troy's room in search of her book. She found it by his bed where she left it. She picked it up and turned around, bumping into Troy. "Jesus." She jumped. "Don't do that!"

"I asked you what you were doing." Troy said, chuckling. "Sorry I scared you."

"It's fine. I left my book in your room. I'm going to go read it."

"I was thinking we could take a walk." Troy said hopefully.

She nodded. "Okay, let me go change my shoes."

"Okay, I'll be in the living room." He said, walking out of his room.

Gabriella put on some tennis shoes and grabbed her phone and a bottle of water. Troy and she set out on their walk. They didn't say much when they got started. They walked down their block to a near by lake. They stopped when they found a bench. Gabi was very thankful. She was getting tired. She took a sip of her water.

"I took my recent away game to think about a lot of things." Troy started. "I was a little out of line before I left. I put a lot of pressure on you to decide if we should be in a relationship or not. I'm not going to lie, I was a little hurt when you didn't even want to try. I get it now though. I actually agree with your decision. I don't think we should be together if we don't feel the same way about each other. That's just a recipe for disaster. We're going to focus on the baby and what it needs."

Gabriella didn't really know how to feel with his little speech. She was sad he felt hurt because of her. She frowned. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I know you didn't. I was being overly sensitive I guess." Troy said shrugging it off. "We don't have to talk about it anymore. How was dress shopping today? Isn't that what you guys did?"

She nodded, sighing. "Yes. It was terrible. I worked so hard to get to a size five but I'm not anymore." She sat back and smoothed down her shirt over her belly. "I feel like I'm going to stay this way forever."

"You're not." Troy reassured. "You'll have the baby and then you'll go back to normal."

"I hope so." She shook out of it. "How was North Carolina?"

Troy smiled. "It was better than I thought it would be. I hung out with Mason and Julie the whole time. They're really cool. You'd like them. We went out and played ball most of the time when we weren't practicing. Julie loves basketball. She's graduating soon."

"That's awesome."

"Yeah. We're going out to lunch tomorrow before we go to the arcade and play that basketball game. We played while we were there and she owes me a rematch. It's going to be fun." Troy said, sitting back. He moved her hair off her shoulder.

"Fun." She said shortly. "Your mom called me. Did she call you?"

Troy shook his head, frowning. "What did she say?"

"Just to say she was sorry. She said she overreacted and she's going to send something down for the baby soon."

"Really?" Troy asked surprised.

"Yeah, I think she and my mom went out to dinner or something." Gabi said, waving her hand. "Mom wasn't really happy when I told her what happened. Daddy finally got back from his trip to Africa. He was sad he missed thanksgiving."

"Its hard being a doctor." Troy said, shrugging. "Especially a travel doctor. But he's doing a lot of good. I'm glad he's back and healthy though."

"Me too. Thanksgiving wasn't the same without him." Gabi said. "He's going to be here for Christmas though! Your mom said she was coming down too, with your dads."

"Great." Troy mumbled. "Family drama on Christmas."

"She's lonely, Troy. You shouldn't be so hard on her."

"Well sorry if I'm still a little upset that she told me I fucked up your life and couldn't keep it in my pants. I'm an idiot for ruining my own life and we have no idea how to be parents."

"I know. I was there." Gabi said, standing up. "I'm going to head back."

"I'll walk with you." He told her, standing up.

Their journey back was just as quiet as walking to the park. The quiet was needed. They both had a lot on their mind. They stopped on the porch to open the door. He sighed, scratching the back of his neck. "Gab. I'm sorry." He said with a small sigh. "I feel like I've been saying it a lot lately."

"You don't have to be sorry for the way you feel Troy." She took his hand and held it between hers. "I should be the sorry one, for hurting you and being hormonal, pregnant, and crazy."

Troy cracked a smile. "I'm growing to love it."

She smiled kissing his hand. "I couldn't do this without you."

"You never have to." Troy assured, kissing her forehead. "Go get some rest."

"I think that's just what i need." She said with a small grin.

* * *

**I was going to upload the other story today but i have a few things that i want to address. I understand y'all don't like Julie because you want Troy and Gabriella together. I normally don't give things away but Troy and Julie are not, and will never be, getting together. Their friendship is strictly platonic. You don't have to get angry or upset or not read my story just because you don't like one character or something. But if you're going to get upset and feel like you don't want to read then I don't want you to read my story. Because that's what it is. MY story. I'm not going to tell you if they're getting together or not. What is the fun in that if you already know what is going to happen? I'm sure alot of other writers feel the same. Sometimes we don't know how many chapters because our stories aren't even finished yet. Mine are never usually finished and when they are I TELL YOU. So if you keep messaging or reviewing that you want gabriella and Troy together and want to know how many chapters there are, i'm not going to tell you cause i'm not sure and you are going to drive me bananas asking the same questions over and over again. -sigh- rant over.**

**The second thing i wanted to say is for my guest reviewer (sally). Yes i live in California. How funny, you live in SJ. I used to live in Fremont but now i live in Milpitas, so were kind of neighbors! lol. I always try to put little things that us people from the Bay Area would know. Glad you keep reading, look out for all the little bay area things i put in (:**

**Everyone, dont forget to review.**


	9. December 31

**December 25, 2012**

If their little house wasn't crowded before it definitely was now. Everybody came down for Christmas. Gabriella's parents, Troy's dads and mom, Chad's parents and Taylor's parents. The parents were staying at a nearby hotel but the celebration would be held at the house. Gabriella and Taylor had been running around all week getting the stuff they needed for snacks and Christmas dinner.

They were a little overwhelmed at first about the amount of food they had to cook and how they were going to do it in their small kitchen. Thankfully Gabriella's parents and Troy's mom came down a little early and helped them out with things that could be prepared days in advance.

Gabriella had already cleaned out half of her closet for things for the baby. She already had so many clothes of all sizes she had no idea where she was going to put them all. Taylor and Sharpay already told her they were throwing her a baby shower and she was going to get even more stuff. She was feeling very overwhelmed since the dress fitting and Troy coming back but spending a lot of time with that Julie girl, the holidays. It was all too much for her hormonal body.

She found herself sitting in the closet around noon. Everybody was in the house, watching football and talking and laughing. Taylor was keeping an eye on the food that was cooking and she needed to get away. Her closet door was closed and the light was on. She was rummaging through a bag of baby clothes. She pulled out a pair of footie pajamas for a pre-mature baby.

Her mom said that she was this small when she was born. She was a couple weeks early and she stopped growing. She was always small and her mom said her baby is bound to be small as well by the size of her small bump. Gabriella pouted to herself, holding the small piece of cloth.

"Gabi?" She heard her door open. "Gabsy?"

"In here." She said quietly, hoping he wouldn't hear her.

After a couple of heave foot steps the door opened. Troy was frowning when he saw her sitting on the floor. "Do I want to ask why you're in the closet?" He asked slowly.

She just shrugged. "My mom said I was this small." Gabriella held up the tiny onsie. "She said our baby was going to be this small too."

"Maybe." He said with a shrug. "Maybe not, do you see how many bags of potato chips you eat a week?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Shut up."

"Why are you in the closet?" He asked, taking a seat in front of her.

"Just needed to get away from the crazy." She said sitting back against the wall behind her. "Mom keeps talking about the baby and your mom is just crazy and Taylor's freaking out about the stupid ham. I don't even like ham!"

Troy chuckled. "I know."

"I want a nap but I can't fall asleep." She ran her fingers against the little buttons. "We haven't talked about boy names."

"Right." Troy said, taking the onsie out of her hands and putting it back in the bag. "We only have Jillian."

Gabriella pushed her hair back. "I'm terrible at picking names but I book marked some that I liked."

"Let's get the book." Troy said, getting up. He helped her up and rubbed her belly gently.

They took a seat on her bed and Gabriella grabbed her name book. "I'll read them off and you can tell me if you like them."

"Okay, hit me."

She flipped through her book. "Alexander Elijah Bolton."

"Eh." He made a face.

"Charlie Alexander Bolton."

"No."

Gabriella sighed. "Grayson Vincent Bolton."

"I don't know about Vincent but I like Grayson."

"Isaac Jack Bolton"

"I like Isaac too." Troy said. "Anymore?"

"Wesley"

Troy chuckled. "Just Wesley?"

"That's as far as I got." She said with a small smile.

He kissed the top of her head. "That's okay. Let's get back out there. Food's almost ready and you don't have to talk about the baby if you don't want to."

"I was just feeling overwhelmed. I'm sure I'll feel better in a little bit." She breathed out. "I feel a little better. I haven't been doing my yoga lately so I've been tense and irritable. I just have to survive Christmas and our moms and dads and when they leave everything will be just peachy."

"I can give you a few more minutes."

Gabriella shook her head. "No, I'm good."

Troy grinned. "Okay, let's go."

Gabriella walked out her room and was met by Mark, Troy's fathers husband. "There you are. We were looking for you. Dinners almost ready."

She gave him a small smile. "Thanks Mark."

"No problem, sweetie. We were going to play a quick game of UNO. Jackie and I and the Danforth's. Y'all are welcome to join."

"Sure. I'll be right there. I'm a little parched." Gabi nodded.

"Want your water? I'll get it for you." Troy said, rubbing her shoulder.

Gabriella nodded again with an appreciative smile. "Thanks."

"Let's get goin. I have to sit far away from Jackie. He's ruthless. He has draw fours all over the place. I think he cheats sometimes." Mark said with a wink. She giggled and followed him to the table where they were gathering.

* * *

**December 31, 2012**

New Years Eve came around quick. They each had a party they were invited to. Taylor and Gabi were invited to a Stanford one; Chad, an East Bay one and Troy, a party that Julie was throwing. Sharpay and Zeke were in New York visiting Kelsi and Ryan for the Holiday. They'd been debating since Christmas to hit each party together or split up and make it back home by midnight so they can celebrate together.

They were still undecided as they got ready. Gabi was, of course, the DD. They said they weren't planning on drinking much but you never really knew. She was the first one to be ready. She waited on the couch patiently, reading a book. She was a little bummed out she wouldn't be celebrating like everyone else but she couldn't do much about that.

Troy was in his room, deciding if he should gel his hair back or not. He wasn't really trying to impress anybody but it didn't hurt to look decent. He decided against it. He was going casual for the night. He buckled his belt and walked out of his room. He saw his Gabi sitting on the couch, chewing gum and reading a book.

"You think I should wear black or a white shirt? Or a different shirt?" He asked. He winced as she nearly jumped ten feet in the air. "Sorry."

"I swear that's how I'm going to go into labor." She said, putting her book down to talk to Troy. She licked her lips unconsciously at his half naked form. "Black looks good with those jeans." She said, surprising herself that she remembered the question.

"Sweet. Are they ready?" He asked, wiping some water droplets off his shoulder.

"Nope. We're all going together, right?"

"Yeah, I think."

"We are." A third voice, Taylor, piped in. She was dressed and ready to go.

"Damn girl. I wish I could fit into that dress." Gabriella said with a small pout. It was her dress, actually. Short and black paired with some stilettos. "I love your hair long like that."

"Thank you." Taylor said with a wide grin. "How are we dressed and ready before the boys?"

"I'm pregnant and fat and don't care what I look like right now… and you were always quick to get dressed." Gabriella said with a shrug.

Taylor rolled her eyes. "Whatever, you look cute."

"I look like my grandma." Gabriella said. "I'm pretty sure this sweater is my moms and this skirt is disgusting."

"Go change then."

"It's maternity. The only thing that will fit and the only thing that's clean." She said with a sigh. "Whatever, where's Chad?"

"Playing with his hair." Taylor said with another roll of her eyes.

"Jesus, we're going to be here till the ball drops." She saw Troy come out with his shirt on. "Chad! Your hair is fine! You have two minutes or I'm leaving without you!" Gabriella yelled through the small house. She picked up the keys to her and Troy's Christmas present from Troy's Mother.

Troy's mom got them a brand new SUV. She claimed they needed a family car for when the baby comes. The gift itself gave Gabriella a headache and Troy thought it was completely over the top. They couldn't give it back or else Lucille would be heartbroken and anxiety ridden because her first grandchild wouldn't have a safe vehicle to be transported in.

After the dramatics were over, Gabriella actually liked the truck. She was going to keep her little car for commuting over the bridge. It was nice to have a truck that they all fit in comfortably; plus one in a car seat when the time came.

Chad walked out of his bedroom not even a minute later. "See, I'm out. What's the game plan?"

"I was thinking we hit up Stanford until it gets boring or whenever then East Bay and do the same and Julie's last." Troy said.

"Why don't we go to Julie's first?" Taylor asked.

"I promised I'd be there when the ball dropped… or a little afterward."

Gabriella rolled her eyes in thought. She still wasn't Julie's biggest fan. She didn't like Julie, period. Gabi would get unreasonably jealous when he'd go hangout with her like she was his new best friend or something. She wished he'd never gone on that stupid Carolina away game road trip.

She felt herself getting worked up. "Let's just go. Whatever. We can decide in the car." She grabbed her freshly filled water jug and walked out the front door. Troy, Taylor, and Chad followed, discussing the best option. Deciding to go with Troy's option, Gabriella headed across the San Francisco Bay.

The Stanford party turned out to be a bust. It was boring, the alcohol wasn't that great and the people were not very lively. They decided to just head straight to Chad's East Bay party, hoping for a good time. It took a while to get there but when they did, they seemed to have came at the right time. The party was just getting started.

Gabriella and Troy stood awkwardly in the living room. They were leaned against the wall, not really saying anything. They watched the party goers. Some people were totally trashed already and were not going to be seeing the New Year come in. It was only about 9:30. Chad was dragging Taylor around, introducing everybody to his hot girlfriend. He knew a lot of people there. It didn't really surprise them because Chad was really outgoing.

Gabriella sighed when she felt the urge to pee. She smoothed her hand down her baby bump and turned to look at Troy. His eyes were stuck on a girl that just walked by. "Troy." She said. He didn't respond. "Troyy." She said loudly, snapping her fingers.

"Hm? What?"

"I have to go pee. Can you come with me? I don't want to get lost. After I'm done you can go flirt with whoever you want."

He murmured a response and nodded. He put his hand on her lower back as they looked around for a bathroom. They found one but when they opened it there was a group of people standing in there. They shut the door quickly and made their way around to the other bathroom. Gabriella stood in line with Troy next to her. It was a little bit quieter than the main living area of the house. Gabi was thankful their dance music was giving her a head ache.

"Oh my god." A tall blonde girl said, who was in the line in front of her. "You're such a cute pregnant girl!"

Gabriella furrowed her eyebrows. "Thanks?"

"Can I touch your bump?" She asked, all too excited. She grabbed her bump before Gabriella even had time to respond. "I thought I was pregnant once. I almost killed myself. I don't know how you're doing it. Especially here. Do you go here?"

"No, My friend does." She said, looking at Troy for some help.

"It's your turn." Troy pointed out to the drunk blonde girl.

"Oh! Gotta pee!" She said, slightly stumbling into the bathroom.

"Remind me not to sit on the toilet seat." Gabriella muttered to Troy as they took a step forward.

After a couple hours at the East Bay party, they met up and Gabriella drove up to Albany. A little city just North West of Berkeley. Julie and Mason's grandparents owned the house there. It was usually a rental but it's tenant free at the moment. It was a pretty big party by just the looks of it. There were cars everywhere.

Gabriella dropped everybody off and found a place to park a little ways down the street. She checked the time and it was nearing midnight as she walked in the door. The music was comfortably loud and the TV was on to the Ball Drop in Times Square. Gabriella sat down on the couch with her jug of water.

Troy had found Mason when he walked right in. After getting them some drinks, Mason showed them around the house. They'd got to the backyard where some people were smoking when they found Julie. "Hey guys!" She said, hugging each one. "You guys came just in time. Where's Gabriella?"

"She had to find somewhere to park." Taylor explained. "She should be catching up with us in a little bit."

Julie nodded. "Mason, go find Gabriella. Make sure she made it inside alright." Julie glanced at her watch and squealed slightly. "Fifteen till midnight! We have champagne that's going to be going around so don't forget to grab a glass. We're all going to be inside in ten minutes."

Mason headed off to find Gabriella. Chad and Taylor went back inside to dance. "I hope I didn't miss anything too crazy." Troy said to Julie after he watched his friends walk away.

"No cops have been called so.. Fingers crossed." She held up her crossed fingers and took a drink of her drink. "You have to find me at midnight okay?"

"How come?"

"It's a surprise." Julie said with a wide grin. "Just find me, okay?"

"Okay." Troy agreed.

Chad and Taylor were off to the makeshift dance floor in the middle of the living room. The couch that was pushed back against the wall had Gabriella and Mason in it. Taylor watched as Mason made her laugh and shake her head. Chad turned his attention over to where Taylor was looking. He smiled as he watched Gabi laugh.

They wondered what they were talking about. What did he say that made her laugh? Especially since she'd been grumpy for the last three weeks. Chad wondered if Mason knew how Troy felt. He was just being friendly, right? He had to know.

"So my cat leaped over the breakfast bar and scratched Julie down her face." Mason said, snickering. "She screamed so loud, she made my mom pee herself."

"Who knew cats hated plastic bags so much?" Gabriella said after she calmed down from her laughter. "Julie was okay though right?"

Mason nodded. "Yeah, she cried for a minute but she was fine. Dad and I were too busy laughing at my mom to really notice."

"I need a cat. They're just so perfect."

"Why don't you get one?"

"Taylor's allergic. Maybe when I move out… or they move out. Whatever one comes first." Gabi said with a shrug.

Mason glanced at her belly. "It's going to be cramped with all five of you in that house."

"I know. I'd move out now if I could but I don't want to live alone or have the money too. Troy and I were talking about getting a place, since we're having a baby. I don't want him to bring home random girls. It'd be a lot."

"Are you dating anyone?"

Gabi laughed. "Do I look like I'm in a position to be dating anyone right now?"

"You're a beautiful girl, I don't see a reason for you to go out a couple times. You should go out now before you're busy with a baby. I know Troy's dying to make you his girl."

Gabriella sighed. "I think he's gotten over me." Her eyes wandered off. She waved to Chad and Taylor who were staring. Troy and Julie came walking in, laughing. "He and Julie seem pretty close lately." She sighed.

"They've been hanging out a lot. She comes to Basketball a lot more now. I don't really mind though. Me and Jule have always been close." He said with a shrug. "You bored? You wanna dance or something?"

Gabriella looked at him in disbelief. "You want to dance with the fat pregnant girl?"

"You're not fat. Let's dance, grump." Mason said with a small smile. He got up and helped Gabriella up. She stood up with a grunt and smoothed her blouse over her skirt. He took her hands and lead her two steps into the crowd. "I really know how to bust a move." Mason said with a cocky grin.

Gabriella couldn't help but laugh when the tall, lanky man in front of her started moving. He could bust a move alright. Too bad he looked like a fish out of water with octopus arms. She found his silliness refreshing. It reminded her of Chad in High School. He was still Chad but after they moved to California he became more serious, mature even.

As the song changed, Mason took her hand and twirled her around. She giggled as she danced around him. Taylor pulled Chad over to her, dancing in a group. Mid song the music stopped. The people on the floor stopped moving abruptly and looked to Julie who was standing by the TV.

"Five minutes!" She said. "Champagne's coming around so grab a glass!"

Gabriella felt a tap on her shoulder. Troy held a glass towards her. She looked at it confused. "It's sparkling cider." Troy explained.

She smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome.'

"Mason is really funny. He's a nice guy."

Troy nodded. "He's a great guy. That's his girlfriend, Miranda." He pointed to a pretty redhead talking with Julie.

"She's pretty." Gabriella said with a smile. She glanced back at the TV. Three minutes. "So which one of these lucky girls are you kissing at midnight?"

"All of them."

"You wish." Gabriella said with a small smile.

Troy chuckled. "You're the only girl I wanna kiss at midnight baby."

"I think you had your limit."

"I'm fine." He said waving her off. He put his hand on her bump. "How is my baby doing?"

"It's good. It was moving a lot earlier. I think it's sleeping now."

"can we find out what it is already? Its killing me." He said dramatically. "I nned to know if I have a son or a daughter. Don't you want to know?"

Gabriella put her hand on his. "Of course I do. I just want to wait until it's born. It'll be a fun surprise. It might be the only baby I have. I want it to be a surprise."

Troy frowned. "Why do you say that? We're going to have lots and lots of babies."

Gabriella sighed. "Troy…"

"I know." He said, rolling his eyes. "We've already talked about this. One day, just one day, You are going to realize you're in love with me too. I'll be there for you. We can live happily ever after… with our baby."

"The thought is nice Troy, but-"

"Five! Four! Three! Two!…."

The ball had dropped on the TV. The whole room was taking their drink of Champagne from their plastic glasses. Gabriella took a reluctant sip from her plastic flute of cider. She felt like an imposter. All these college kids were having fun but she was drinking sparkling cider. She sighed to herself, finishing her glass off before looking around the room.

"No!" She heard Troy say from next to her.

"What?" She asked softly.

"Callie." He said. He turned to me and grinned. "Callie is here!"

"That's great." Gabriella said sarcastically. "Who's Callie?"

Troy pointed across the room. All Gabriella was saw kissing couples. It seems like everybody was pared up, kissing like there was no tomorrow. Her body froze up when she finally saw what Troy was talking about. Julie was tongue deep in who Gabriella guessed was Callie. She looked over at Troy. "They've been talking online for years. I knew they were meeting up soon but I didn't know it was going to be tonight." Troy said with a fond smile.

Gabriella rubbed her tummy, finding Troy's hand still on it. "That's great for Julie."

"Yeah, she's a great person." Troy bent down, pressing a kiss to Gabriella's belly. "Happy New Year, baby. Can't wait to meet you." She smiled down at him and wrapped her arms around him tightly. It was times like these, even though he was drunk, that she couldn't wait to see him with their child.

* * *

**Told you. Don't forget to review!**


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